Incorporating inclusion, diversity and equity into onboarding and orientation sessions for new faculty, employees and students is among the action steps that the UNMC Inclusivity Committee plans to implement over the next year.
Bob Bartee, chairman of the committee, said that committee members are excited to put action to work as UNMC continues its efforts to create an environment of inclusion for employees, students, faculty, patients and visitors.
“We continually must evaluate our environment to ensure that everyone is valued, respected and connected, so they have the opportunity to flourish,” said Bartee, vice chancellor for external relations at UNMC. “The Inclusivity Committee will lead several initiatives on campus over the next year to ensure that our campus builds on our strengths and identifies any gaps in these areas.”
The initiatives are part of UNMC’s overall strategic plan. Therefore, each initiative will be continually evaluated and will have an Inclusivity Committee member who has primary responsibility for its completion.
Among the items in the plan are:
- provide more campus-wide collaboration among current inclusion, diversity and equity (IDE) activities;
- define and implement IDE best practices and metrics, to better access campus efforts in this area;
- identify and invite national leaders in IDE to speak in various venues such as grand rounds, campus forums and information sessions;
- incorporate IDE into onboarding and orientation sessions; and,
- explore the incorporation of IDE into the Medical Humanities Curriculum.
Emily McElroy, an Inclusivity Committee member who led the committee’s planning process, said she encourages participation from anyone on campus who is interested in being a part of the initiatives.
“To continue our work to becoming a truly inclusive environment, we need faculty, staff and students with multiple perspectives and backgrounds to work on this collectively,” said McElroy, director of the McGoogan Library of Medicine. “This will be successful only with many voices at the table, so to speak.”
Those interested in participating in the efforts should contact Bartee.