Notes from the President - November 2022

Accepting all in a world of pain

“Good morning Dr. Hart,” the email began. “I understand your role as our leader is very sensitive and political matters in other countries should not be a political position for LLU. There are many Iranian students, faculty, physicians, dentists, pharmacists, etc. that come to LLU with the pain and worrisome for the safety of their families in Iran. The young middle-school, high school, college students and faculty that have been arrested or lost their lives during these protests are just simply asking for freedom of women. . . . I am personally working hard to make sure my worrisome does not impact my performance. When I see a student in the hallways of Linda Hall, Iranian, I just reach out without knowing them and ask if their family is safe…. So many tears and fears I see and hear. . . . We all carry heavy hearts daily.”

What does it mean to be a cosmopolitan campus, a welcoming and safe harbor for those from other countries and backgrounds? Loma Linda University works hard to balance our reputation as a Christian campus with conservative values while also recognizing an opportunity — let me call it an obligation — to serve the world. People come to us as patients or scholars, wealthy or poor. We have Ukrainians and Russians, Palestinians and Israelis, Muslims and Jews, Hindus and Buddhists, and certainly those of various Christian persuasions — as both patients and students in our hospitals and on campus. So many have left loved ones behind, in Haiti, Syria, Yemen, Venezuela, China, Afghanistan, Myanmar, and other hot spots in today’s world. Personal relationships can and must rise above these national politics.

Many come to Loma Linda University precisely because we are a Christian campus known to be accepting of those from other faith traditions, a place of understanding and inclusion. I want to give a special shout-out to our faculty, staff, and students, who demonstrate their love and caring every day, not only accepting but seeking out those who are lonely or who may feel ostracized or abandoned by their own culture or people. 

How far should this culture of caring spread? Is it okay to welcome the recovering alcoholic or drug abuser? The felon seeking to remake his life after prison? The refugee seeking freedom from fear? Those struggling with mental or physical limitations? How about those with different expressions of gender identity or personality quirks that have handicapped them in life? Where should we draw the line? When should we say, sorry, your presence would jeopardize our own culture. We can’t accept you to be among us.

As the years go by, I find myself more and more on the side of Micah 6:8 — “to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with my God.” I don’t have the ability to judge another’s motivation or background, to sort out those who are “safe” from those who are not. Instead, I would rather spend my energy calling out the good in each of us. I want Loma Linda University Health to be an environment that is so solidly on Christ’s side of acceptance and inclusion that everyone feels welcome.  

Will this make some nervous? Probably. But those who come grow immensely from this interaction. Patients feel it. Accreditors acknowledge it. Our students become better professionals and better people. They become comfortable engaging with the world in a way only personal experience can bring.

In this context, our unifying cry becomes one of Christian compassion, of caring for each other and the community around us. High academic and clinical standards are complemented by service activities across cultural and economic boundaries. As a result, our faculty, staff, and students become comfortable relating to all walks of life, whether a wealthy aristocrat or homeless under the bridge, whether at an orphanage in Mexico or through translation from another language. Cautious relationships grow to warm embraces as we understand and accept each other. That is the Loma Linda University Health I crave: a refuge, a safe harbor in this world of chaos and pain.

Sincerely,

Richard H. Hart, MD, DrPH
President
Loma Linda University Health