Diversity, Education and Inclusion Statement

The CUNY School of Medicine Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Policy represents a multi-pronged approach to diversity, equity, and inclusion that includes: best practices to attract, retain, support, and promote students, faculty, staff, and administrative leaders from social and racial/ethnic groups under-represented in medicine; programs and strategies to establish an equitable and inclusive environment/climate; and curricula to advance equity and social justice.  The School focuses on recruiting a talented pool of diverse students, thereby expanding access to medical education to individuals from underserved communities, with limited financial resources, and with racial/ethnic backgrounds historically underrepresented in the medical profession – with a particular focus on Latinx and African-American students. Cognizant that underrepresentation in medicine includes educational, economic, and other environmental factors, the School considers these factors in its holistic recruitment of students. 

To broaden the recruitment of diverse employees in all titles, and particularly those in full-time faculty and senior administrative staff titles, the CUNY School of Medicine is committed to increasing the representation of people of color, specifically Latinx and African-Americans, through the development and implementation of initiatives and professional development to reduce bias in the recruitment, hiring and promotions processes, and to support the promotion and tenure of faculty from these groups. Our goal is to create a climate wherein each individual is valued and has an equitable right to inclusion, respect, agency, and voice, independent of age, race, ethnicity, cultural heritage or nationality, gender, sexual orientation or gender identity, religious or political affiliation; or socioeconomic, ability or veteran status. Best practices will be used to:

• support the development of structurally and culturally competent curricula centered upon the goal of eliminating health inequities
• achieve a climate of inclusion that respects and affirms diversity of backgrounds and life experiences, and
• evaluate and examine inequitable systems and structures requiring dismantling. 

This multi-pronged approach will be supported with resources adequate to the task. Under the leadership of the Assistant Dean for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, the CUNY School of Medicine will perform periodic reviews of these efforts to assess their effectiveness and impact and report the results on an annual basis to the CUNY School of Medicine community to ensure the appropriate investment of resources.