The CEO Roundtable on Cancer announced today that the University of North Carolina Pembroke and the University of Texas Permian Basin have joined its Going for Gold initiative.

Going for Gold extends the Roundtable’s CEO Cancer Gold Standard® employer accreditation to minority-serving universities that champion health and well-being by advancing cancer prevention, diagnosis, and quality treatment for their students, faculty, staff, alumni, parents and communities.

The initiative also enables universities to contribute to research efforts through the Roundtable’s Project Data Sphere®, which helps expand access to clinical trial research and offers an open-access digital platform for aggregating and analyzing data to advance health equity efforts.

“We are excited to add UNC Pembroke and UT Permian Basin to the growing list of schools that have decided to Go for Gold,” said Joya Delgado Harris, MPH, executive director of the CEO Cancer Gold Standard. “Thanks to their addition, we can now affect even more lives across the nation.”

Going for Gold is intended to reduce disparities in cancer diagnoses and deaths among minority populations in the United States. American Indian people have much higher rates of several cancers, including lung, colorectal, liver, stomach and kidney cancers, compared to non-Hispanic White people in the United States.

Hispanics and Latinos are also at heightened risk for certain types of cancer. Cancer is the leading cause of death for Hispanic or Latino people in the United States. Hispanic women have the second highest rate of dying from cervical cancer, after non-Hispanic Black women, and Hispanic people have the second highest rate of dying from liver cancer.

Established in 1887 as a school for the education of American Indians, today the University of North Carolina at Pembroke is nationally recognized as one of the most diverse regional universities in the south. Located in the heart of Pembroke, NC, UNC Pembroke boasts an enrollment of over 7,776 in 41 undergraduate and 19 graduate programs and offers a personalized learning environment where faculty and staff are dedicated to engaged scholarship, high academic standards, creative activity and public service.

“UNC Pembroke is proud to announce our commitment to join the CEO Roundtable for Cancer’s Going for Gold Initiative,” said Robin Gary Cummings, MD, chancellor of UNC Pembroke. “As the first Native American Serving Non-Tribal Institution to participate, we are honored to be part of this significant partnership. The Going for Gold Initiative aligns perfectly with our university’s strategic dedication to transform the health outcomes and workforce needs to address the challenges faced by our region.”

As a regional, comprehensive institution, The University of Texas Permian Basin serves a diverse community of students from the region, the state, and beyond. With a focus on student success, applied research, and public service, the University cultivates engaged citizens and impacts lives while advancing technology and the public interests of West Texas. UT Permian Basin serves more than 7,500 students each year offering over 34 undergraduate and 22 graduate programs. UT Permian Basin has received distinctions as both a Hispanic-Serving Institution and a Minority-Serving Institution for its commitment to providing excellent academic programs with exceptional value to these populations.

“One of my top priorities as president is the health and wellbeing of my students, staff, faculty, alumni and community,” said Sandra Woodley, DBA, president of UT Permian Basin. “We want to play a role in promoting and supporting the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer. The Going for Gold initiative allows us to have an impact in an area that affects just about every family in America.”