About The Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

The Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion was established in February 2017. It provides coordination, oversight and leadership of the UNC SOM’s diversity and inclusion programs and leads school efforts to build a diverse faculty and inclusive environment that values and respects the contributions of all members of the community. The Office will enhance the efforts toward increased diversity and inclusion in our SOM community in cooperation with chairs, deans, and other institutional leaders and intersects with all areas of the institution, including admissions, human resources, faculty recruitment, professional development, academic leadership and institutional advancement, as well as the UNC Health Care Executive Director of Diversity and Inclusion.

UNC SOM Statement on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

The UNC School of Medicine and UNC Medical Center are committed to improving the health of North Carolinians and others we serve through excellence in patient care, education and research. We aim to serve our patients expert care regardless of age, ethnicity, gender, race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or socioeconomic background, and we strive to embrace diversity, equity and inclusive excellence through our actions, our policies and our culture.

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The Office has the following responsibilities:

• Development and implementation of a Diversity Strategic Plan for the UNC SOM
• Oversight of efforts to address broad and specific issues of faculty, staff and student diversity
• Promote and advance diversity and inclusion for faculty, trainees (in graduate medical education programs and other graduate education and training programs within the SOM), students and SOM staff
• Work closely with UNC SOM unit leaders to identify, develop and implement unit-specific metrics and provide the tools that will support leadership efforts to measure and improve diversity both at the departmental and institutional levels
• Work with UNC SOM unit leaders to identify key committees that should have representation from women and those underrepresented in medicine, and serve as a resource to advise on diversity issues for other committees
• Provide an annual institution-level report to the Executive Dean of UNC SOM in the first quarter of each fiscal year concerning initiatives and progress in achieving diversity in all SOM settings over the preceding fiscal year, including development and implementation of institution-wide metrics, and culture-change related to diversity

Other initiatives and responsibilities

• Serve as a member of key leadership groups in the UNC SOM and/or present regularly to key leadership groups on diversity and inclusion
• Identify and disseminate diversity and inclusion “best practices” within the SOM, hospitals and elsewhere
• Routinely provide a presentation and set of instructions concerning diversity to search committees and admissions committees
• Develop training curricula and programs in diversity and inclusion that are available to leaders and departments/divisions, and assume a leadership role in encouraging, offering and implementing these curricula and programs
• Serve as a liaison with internal and external groups that advance the cause of diversity and inclusion, including the UNCHCS Executive Director for Diversity and Inclusion