Medical School strengthens commitment to diversity
T
he year 2020 brought profound change in higher education, particularly for institutions like UMass Medical School, an academic health sciences center with a mission of improving human health. The COVID-19 global pandemic is one example of how change was thrust upon the Medical School. But it was not the only challenge demanding action. The nation’s institutions also faced a reckoning on racial disparities, a reckoning prompted in large part by widespread anguish and action following the death in May of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police officers. “The sobering reality is that racism is a public health crisis,” said Chancellor Michael F. Collins. “At UMass Medical School, we see the impact of inequality most concretely on access to education and health care, but we don’t have to look very far to see the pernicious effects of
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racism on housing, criminal justice, food security and employment. We know that even well-intentioned allies can perpetuate unconscious and implicit biases and structural racism.” Chancellor Collins and the UMMS leadership team outlined invigorated efforts in 2020 to put diversity into action. “At UMass Medical School, we believe that diversity drives our future. We aspire to create an academic community where all are and feel welcome and able to thrive,” Collins said. “Our students, who represent the next generation of stewards of our health, have challenged us to be more transparent and more accountable in creating a learning environment that embodies the principles of equity, diversity and inclusion. And we are doing so.” Some long-standing diversity and inclusion initiatives are being
strengthened and expanded through the IMPACT 2025 strategic plan; other actions, such as charging academic leaders to strengthen diversity among faculty and students, align directly with priorities identified by students. The Medical School has also begun an ongoing series of conversations designed to help the community explore its own biases and communicate ways to make positive change. Following are highlights of diversity activities this year: · The appointment in September of Milagros C. Rosal, PhD, professor of population & quantitative health sciences in the Division of Preventive and Behavioral Medicine, to the newly created position of vice provost for health equity, responsible for institutional development and implementation of a strategic vision for increasing
ROB CARLIN PHOTOGRAPHY
More than 500 members of the UMass Medical School– UMass Memorial community took part in a silent vigil for George Floyd in June.
