The Office for Faculty Development + Diversity dedicates its time to finding ways in which faculty and staff can strive toward a more inclusive and diverse educational atmosphere. With this Diversity Strategic Action plan, our goals are made tangible and we are given a clear route to success. Read our goals below and learn how we can continuously work toward building a more welcoming community within the School of Medicine.
Download the School of Medicine Diversity Strategic Action Plan 2015-2019 here.
Download the School of Medicine Diversity Strategic Action Plan 2020-2024 here.
School of Medicine Diversity Strategic Action Plan 2020-2024
Vision: To increase knowledge, understanding, presence, and celebration of diversity at all levels of the School of Medicine
Goal 1: Enhance the overall climate to reflect, promote, and welcome diversity
| Strategy/Expected Outcome | Action Steps (with Timeline) | Metrics/Targets | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|---|
| Develop and sustain a multiple speaker series that focuses on diversity- and inclusion-related issues |
Identify desired speakers and schedule
|
Launching of series
|
SOM Development Office; SOM Office for Faculty Development and Diversity |
| Collaborate with SOM Development to secure ongoing funding | Number of talks per year | ||
|
Number of speakers |
|||
|
Attendance at talks |
|||
| Successful solicitation of funding | |||
|
Support student affinity groups financially and through connection
|
Continue with ongoing support to LMSA, NMSA, QGRad
|
Number of meetings held with multiple student organizations participating
|
Office of the Dean; Medical Education; Society Deans; student groups |
| Facilitate development of cross-campus student networks | Number of events sponsored collaboratively by student groups | ||
|
Conduct a biannual diversity needs assessment to monitor progress
|
Develop needs assessment instrument
|
Conduct of survey
|
SOM Office for Faculty Development and Diversity |
| Develop mechanism for dissemination of instrument, analysis of responses, and compilation and dissemination of results | Analysis of survey responses and dissemination of findings | ||
|
Increase diversity-related events and celebrations at the SOM
|
Promote campus-wide diversity calendar on the SOM website |
Production of calendar on diverse SOM websites |
Office of the Dean; SOM Office for Faculty Development and Diversity, department chairs; student affinity groups |
| Develop programming for diversity-related events, e.g. MLK Week, PRIDE month, International Day of Persons with Disabilities |
Development and production of events for --Black history month --National Hispanic American Heritage Month --International Women's Day --PRIDE month --International Day of Persons with Disabilities |
||
|
Conduct a systematic evaluation of all policies and procedures to ascertain the extent to which they reflect unintentional bias
|
Identify SOM policies and procedures that may exist apart from those of the university Solicit volunteers from within the SOM and the university to serve on committee to evaluate policies and procedures Develop timeline for review of all SOM policies and procedures |
Identification of policies and procedures
Recruitment of volunteers Development of timeline Review of policies and procedures Presentation of recommended revisions |
Dean's office, Office for Faculty Affairs and Human Resources, Office for Faculty Development and Diversity, Medical Education, Faculty Council |
|
Improve faculty, staff, and student awareness and adherence relating to university reporting requirements for harassment
|
Continue to send notices to faculty and staff relating to policies Assess awareness of policies and procedures through inclusion of items in biannual diversity needs assessment Incorporate information into new faculty orientation and chair bootcamp |
Annual dissemination of notices to faculty and staff relating to policies Inclusion of questions relating to policies and procedures in biannual diversity needs assessment Incorporation of information into new faculty orientation and chair bootcamp |
SOM Office for Faculty Development and Diversity; university office; Office of Inclusion, Diversity and Equal Opportunity, Title IX office |
| Produce an annual report that focuses on diversity issues and accomplishments | Develop annual report | Annual report developed and disseminated in paper and electronic formats | Vice Dean for Faculty Development and Diversity in collaborations with other SOM offices |
|
Increase diversity of faculty and staff
|
Work with leadership and Chairs of search committees to ensure diversity on search committees, using a broad definition of diversity |
Increased diversity of faculty and staff at multiple levels of SOM | Office of Faculty Affairs and Human Resources; Vice Dean, Faculty Development and Diversity; department chairs; CWRU Human Resources |
| Expand sources of recruitment to include more potential sources of diverse candidates | |||
| Increase diversity of candidate pools that reflects broad definition of diversity | |||
| Develop mechanism to facilitate retention of faculty and staff to maintain diversity | |||
|
Maintain and expand pipeline programs and foster coordination between programs to maximize efforts
|
Seek funding to continue and expand existing pipeline programs: --pre-health conference for minority and disadvantaged student --NIH-funded Heart, Lung, and Blood Summer Research Program --pipeline program with CMSD --Joan C. Edwards Foundation scholarship --Identify mechanisms for coordination |
Continuation of programming Identification of person/office responsible for coordination of efforts |
Individual program directors; Dean's office; SOM Development |
|
Expand efforts to identify and implement diversity-related best practices and programming
|
Recruit volunteers from across campus Identify existing opportunities to collaborate with other schools within CWRU Compile inventory of best practices utilized by various CWRU schools and beyond |
Recruitment of diverse committee members from across CWRU Identification of existing opportunities and best practices Compilation of recommendations Dissemination and broad review by stakeholders of recommendations |
Office for Faculty Development and Diversity; Dean's office; Faculty Council; Admissions; SOM Graduate Office; Medical Education; OIDEO; CWRU Flora Stone Mather Women's Center; CWRU Academic Affairs Council; Office for Faculty Affairs and Human Resources (SOM & central); SAC |
Goal 2: Enhance the curriculum and associated training opportunities to increase inclusiveness and decrease adverse experiences
| Strategy/Expected Outcome | Action Steps (with Timeline) | Metrics/Targets | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Revise medical school curriculum to be more inclusive, more representative of population demographics, and less Othering
|
Revision of IQ and FCM cases Inclusion of diverse students on development of all Blocks |
Revision of IQ & FCM cases to reflect population demographics Student participation on committees to revise cases |
Office for Faculty Development and Diversity; Medical Education |
| Revise poverty simulation to reduce othering or replace current poverty simulation with alternative activity designed to meet educational goals | Revision of poverty simulation or identification and implementation of alternative activity | ||
|
Improve IQ facilitator training for diversity
|
Establish process for ongoing facilitator training Institute requirement of diversity training for all IQ facilitators Develop content for facilitator training, including video training |
Launching of diversity training curriculum specifically for facilitators Implementation of diversity training requirement for all IQ facilitators Evaluation of diversity training and ongoing improvement of process and content Incorporation of diversity-related questions into student evaluation of IQ facilitators |
Office for Faculty Development and Diversity; Medical Education; OIDEO |
| Improve oversight of medical school training sites to reduce harassment and improve reporting of problematic incidents and encounters |
Increase collaboration with CWRU Office of Equity and OIDEO Establish relationships with legal counsel and Title IX offices of clinical affiliates Develop process in collaboration with clinical affiliates and CWRU Office of Equity for reporting and investigation of problematic incidents and encounters |
Establishment of procedures as noted | SOM Office for Faculty Development and Diversity; SOM Medical Education; CWRU Equity Office; CWRU Legal Counsel and Legal Counsel and Title IX officers of clinical affiliates |
|
Encourage clinical affiliates to sponsor faculty-student networking events
|
Continue currently existing networking activities Increase sponsorship of faculty-student networking events at UH, MHMC, VA, and CCF |
Number of networking events held per year Number of networking events sponsored annually by each clinical affiliate Faculty and student attendance at each networking event |
Faculty at HMC, UH, CCF, VA; Society Deans; Medical Education |
| Integrate diversity-related issues into SOM graduate degree programs |
Include diversity-related discussions in IBMS session Encourage and facilitate all basic science departments to incorporate relevant diversity-related concepts into their curriculum and courses Encourage and facilitate the PA program to incorporate relevant diversity-related concepts into their curriculum and courses |
Revision of IBMS curriculum to include diversity-related issues Identification of IBMS speaker(s) on diversity Revision of curricula and courses within departments and within the PA program to address relevant diversity-related concepts |
SOM Office of Graduate Education; Office for Faculty Development and Diversity; curriculum committees of basic science departments; basic science department Chairs; PA program |
| Develop formal mentor-mentee match program for SOM professional and graduate students and postdocs who self-identify as URM#, first generation college, and/or of lower SES |
Develop listing of faculty willing to serve as mentors sponsor several mentor-mentee match events annually |
Number of faculty willing to serve as mentors Number of students/postdocs and faculty participating in program Number of mentor-mentee match events held annually Mentor and mentee program evaluations |
Office for Faculty Development and Diversity; Medical Education; Student Affairs |
|
Restructure diversity-related offices in the SOM so that there can be better integration of programs and functions
|
Restructure diversity functions related to faculty, staff, and students through a single office | Integration of SOM diversity-related functions into one office | Dean's office; Office of Vice Dean for Faculty Development and Diversity; SOM Graduate Office; SOM Admissions; SOM Student Affairs; SOM Office of Diversity Initiative & Community Engagement; Society deans |
|
Continue to provide established diversity-related programs
|
Continue educational and networking programming
|
Continuation of following programs: --Faculty Reaching for Academic Medical Excellence (FRAME) --Minority faculty-student meet and greet reception --Minority faculty directory |
Office for Faculty Development and Diversity |
| Ensure adequate access to ESS/disability resources, mental health services, student health services, Title IX confidential reporters remains adequate in view of distance between HEC and central campus | Development of mechanisms to maintain accessibility | SOM Office for Faculty Development and Diversity; CWRU Office of Equity | |
| Provide mental health resources and supports for SOM professional and graduate students within the SOM |
Conduct survey of SOM professional and graduate students to determine level and nature of need Conduct survey of other medical schools and graduate schools to ascertain existing approaches to provision of mental health support and counseling services both in-school and in larger university setting Examine possible mechanisms and nature of support services that could be implemented within SOM, considering structure, financing, and other considerations |
Recruit volunteers to serve on committee Network with SOM constituent groups Develop and disseminate survey and analyze findings Determine level and nature of need Survey other academic medical centers and graduate programs for current and best practices Identify and evaluate possible avenues for provision of additional services in SOM Provide recommendations |
Admissions; SOM Graduate Office; student organizations; Dean's office, Office for Faculty Development and Diversity; Student services; SOM student groups; Development |
Goal 3: Improve and expand content and format of diversity training for faculty, staff, and students in the context of professionalism
| Strategy/Expected Outcome | Action Steps (with Timeline) | Metrics/Targets | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|---|
| Foster diversity of thought | Develop and sustain a speaker series that focuses on diversity- and inclusion-related issues |
--Number of talks given each year --Number of people in attendance at each talk |
Office for Faculty Development & Diversity; Dean's office |
| Create a longitudinal core curriculum for faculty and staff that encourages awareness of unconscious bias, privilege, and self-reflection and includes information relating to relationship of diversity to ancestry, pharmacogenetics, access, and local environment |
Develop online curriculum
|
Number of people that completed the training. Aim for 10% participation in the 1st year | SOM Office for Faculty Development and Diversity; SOM Development office; CWRU Office for Inclusion, Diversity, and Equal Opportunity; student representatives |
| Develop in-person training | |||
| Provide listing of resources for self-assessment | |||
| Develop a trained SOM-based core facilitator group to lead sessions and modules using individual's own stories |
Identify SOM-based volunteers to lead effort Development of narratives Development of sociodramas and training of sociodrama facilitators |
Each participant will complete an evaluation form for each session | Expertise within the CWRU community in facilitating a narrative session and socio-drama;OIDEO |
| Create, disseminate, and utilize mechanisms to foster narrative and discussion |
Identify individuals to create mechanisms Create mechanisms: On line edited posting boards Cartoons Advertisement |
Number of mechanisms created Number of volunteers Frequency of usage |
SOM Office for Faculty Development and Diversity |
| Integrate faculty participation in leading diversity training into salary and promotion and tenure metrics |
Incorporate provision of training into metrics for faculty salary and promotion Incorporate the level of department contributions to diversity training into chair evaluations. |
The number of departments that incorporate faculty training efforts into the promotion and salary metrics Dean incorporation of department participation into chair evaluation and department review processes |
SOM leadership; department chairs; SOM Faculty council; SOM dean |
| Train faculty and staff to better manage conflict situations |
Identify potential resources and mechanisms for training Explore whether training should be voluntary or mandatory Develop calendar for regular training sessions Develop written guidance for faculty and staff |
Implementation of training mechanism Number of faculty trained Evaluations of training provided Development and dissemination of written guidance |
SOM Office for Faculty Development and Diversity; CWRU HR |
Goal 4: Enhance SOM diversity and diversity-related functions through the development of adequate financial resources
| Strategy/Expected Outcome | Action Steps (with Timeline) | Metrics/Targets | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|---|
| Increase scholarships to increase local diversity pool of medical and SOM graduate students |
Make an inventory of all scholarship available for prospective medical and SOM graduate students by January 2021 |
Inventory should be listed on SOM website and communicated |
SOM Development; SOM Office of Student Affairs; SOM Admissions |
| Identify the gaps for SOM degree programs without scholarship funding by March 2021 | Define the priority list for fundraising opportunities | SOM Development | |
| Define baseline and set goals for scholarship by June 2021 | SOM Development; SOM Leadership; SOM Office of Student Affairs | ||
| Develop fundraising plan by August 2021 | Fundraising plan developed and communicated to SOM Development team | SOM Development | |
| Monitor annual progress versus goals | Annual $ raised versus goals report | SOM Development | |
| Replicate the Joan C. Edwards Scholarship program for other degrees in SOM (eg. MS, MA, MPH, PA, etc) by December 2024 | Annual fundraising plan | SOM Development | |
|
Create opportunities and programs to develop a more diverse pipeline pool |
Explore need for increased funding for a liaison between SOM and CMSD (~Sarah Sells) by December 2024 |
Increase effort to at least one FTE responsible for liaison between SOM and CMSD, if justified |
SOM Development; Medical Education |
| Increase funding for programs such as Youth Scholars Academy and endowed position for its leader by December 2023 |
$2M professorship $1M endowed fund |
||
|
Raise sufficient funding to create and sustain a SOM Center for Diversity and Inclusion |
Refine opportunities for funding (Total $5M to name center=$2M professorship, $1M staff endowed position, 2@$250K ($500K) lectures series, $500K diversity and inclusion longitudinal curriculum for faculty and staff, others ($1M): space, awards, professional development, diversity experts trainers, etc. by January 2021 |
Funding Opportunities confirmed |
SOM Development, Dean's office; SOM Office for Faculty Development and Diversity
|
| Develop a fundraising plan to create a SOM Center for Diversity and Inclusion by January 2022 | Fundraising plan developed and communicated to SOM Development team | SOM Development, Dean's office; SOM Office for Faculty Development and Diversity | |
| Raise funds to create SOM Center for Diversity and Inclusion by December 31, 2024 | SOM Center for Diversity and Inclusion named for $5M | SOM Development, Dean's office; SOM Office for Faculty Development and Diversity |
*For the purposes of this strategic action plan, diversity is to be defined broadly including, but not limited to race, ethnicity, sex, sexual identity, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender orientation, religion, spirituality, veteran status, disability, political opinion, thought, socioeconomic status, first generation college, primary language, nationality/citizenship, and country of origin.
+Nothing in this document is intending to supersede or circumvent existing approval processes for effectuating changes in a specified domain, e.g., faculty reporting, curriculum development/revision or to supersede or circumvent accreditation requirements for any program.
#For the purpose of this document and plan, URM signifies "underrepresented minority," which is intended to include individuals who self-identify as a member of any group that is recognized as a minority for the purposes of federal, state, or university reporting requirements. This includes, but may not be limited to, identification in any of the following groups or any subgroup thereof: African American, Black, Afro Caribbean, Latino, Latina Latinx, Hispanic, Native American, American Indian, Alaskan Native, Hawaiian Native, Asian, or Pacific Islander. This is a broader category than URIM (underrepresented in medicine), which does not include individuals who self-identify as Asian or as a member of an Asian subgroup, and does not include most Pacific Islander groups. The term does not include individuals who identify based on veteran status, first generation college, disability, socioeconomic status, language, religion, spirituality, primary language, nationality/citizenship, or country of origin The use of the term "minority" is in no way meant to disregard the diversity that exists within and across minoritized groups.