Scanning the Student Government ballot Tuesday, I was extremely pleased to see the referendum for the creation of a committee to advise UF's Board of Trustees on socially responsible policy.
There is already much for this potential committee to address. For example, UF can adopt humanitarian licensing policies to ensure low-cost access to drugs developed in our labs. The licensing decisions we make at UF determine whether the fruits of our scientists' research will be accessible in poor nations.
In 2006, Universities Allied for Essential Medicines, a student organization with chapters at nearly 40 universities, issued a statement calling for universities to "measure research success according to impact on human welfare." Thousands of students, scientists, prominent public-health officials, and several Nobel laureates signed that document, known as the Philadelphia Consensus statement.
UF and other universities must act collectively and definitively to expand global access to medicines.
