Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth

On February 9, 2023, Dartmouth Health leadership is hosting A Matter of Life or Death: The Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging Imperative which is a “conversation around the strategies they are implementing to curate a more diverse healthcare workforce by investing in educational and faculty pipeline programs, embracing cultural humility, and fostering a sense of belonging that will ultimately lead to better health outcomes for underrepresented and marginalized communities.”

Geisel's 2023-2028 Strategic Plan states that the school would "[e]ncourage and support Geisel’s engagement at affinity group recruitment fairs and national meetings to aid in the recruitment of diverse students and staff."

The Office for Diversity, Inclusion, and Community Engagement at Geisel "partners with various institutions and organizations to broaden the diversity of the applicant pool to our school." The office also provides a list of those partnerships.  

Dartmouth-Hitchcock Health is "committed to implementing policy changes that promote equity and opportunity...providing anti-racism and implicit bias training for all staff and administrators."

The Dartmouth student newspaper reported, "In an email sent by Geisel dean Duane Compton on June 11, 2020, Geisel committed to implementing mandatory implicit bias training for faculty and staff."

The school's Office of Diversity, Inclusion, and Community Engagement highlights some of its faculty hiring and search committee policies including: "A requirement that all search committee members for Geisel must take implicit bias training" and "Other resources for understanding/mitigating against implicit bias (e.g., AAMC module on exploring unconscious bias) and procedures to optimize fair hiring practices.)"

On February 8, 2018, the school published the "Geisel Plan for Diversity, Inclusion and a Respectful Workplace" and states on Pg.19 under "Search Committee Expectations and Protocols," that "all search committees at Geisel are required to take training on one of the Project Implicit® implicit association tests (IAT:http://implicit.harvard.edu/)."

Geisel's 2023-2028 Strategic Plan states the following: "Build into our culture ongoing training for faculty, staff, and students on how to create an inclusive and supportive culture, including training on bystander intervention, allyship, and mitigation of bias."

Geisel's 2023-2028 Strategic Plan states that the school would develop "ongoing education and training programs to eliminate bias and to expand applicant pools for all positions" at the school of medicine.

Geisel's 2023-2028 Strategic Plan states the following: "Students, staff, and faculty from across Geisel-related educational programs will jointly participate in classes and training on DEIB topics, preparing them to address structural barriers to DEIB in broader communities and to better address the impacts of racism and other intolerance(s) on health outcomes."

In 2020, the school's Office of the Dean published its "Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Programs Dashboard" which outlines its many initiatives and programs including the following curriculum initiatives; "Full integration of Race and Health Equity Longitudinal Curriculum (RHE LC) Into UME," and the "Restorative Justice Pilot Program." (Both of these initiatives are labeled as "In Progress" as of 2020)

Geisel's 2023-2028 Strategic Plan states that the school would "[e]nhance educational experiences and curricula through an intentional commitment and adherence to principles of equity and inclusion."

Geisel's 2023-2028 Strategic Plan states the following: "We will work to ensure that our curricular offerings, in both existing and new education programs, empower our students with the skills and training to identify and address gaps and deficiencies in access to care and care delivery across broad populations and to change policies and practices to ameliorate those inequities."

On April 10, 2023, Dartmouth Health announced that it received a $2.5 million gift from alumni in order to “establish the Couch Endowed Fund for Inclusive Excellence Faculty Fellowships at Dartmouth Cancer Center.”

In 2023, the school is hosting the Dartmouth Visiting Student Program which is “designed for students from underrepresented communities.”

The School of Medicine hosts the E.E. Just Program for underrepresented minorities.

The Health Equity Pathways Program at the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice is "committed to building and supporting a community of scholars who are asking challenging questions and investigating ways to eliminate health inequities—with the ultimate goal of achieving social justice in health."

On March 14, 2024, Geisel announced that Abigail Konopasky, PhD, director of medical education research and scholarship and associate professor of medical education at Geisel School of Medicine, has received a grant in order to investigate "the generational impact of racial trauma."

Geisel's 2023-2028 Strategic Plan states that the school would "[p]romote and support the development of health equity fellowship programs that provide protected time and research funding for early career investigators focused on health equity related research and which could serve to promote collaborative research opportunities between Dartmouth College and other institutions, including Minority Serving Institutions (i.e. HBCU’s)."

Dartmouth-Hitchcock Health held an event called "Virtual Conversations in Justice and Equity in Bioethics Part 3 of 3: Racism and Health Equity: Why Does it Matter in Bioethics?" The description reads, "The year of 2020 has brought forth ethical challenges to our health care system in unimaginable ways. The murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor cast a spotlight on the impact of racism in society. We will shine that spotlight on racism, bioethics and the effects of structural justice on health, with a particular focus on the impact in Northern New England."

As part of its "Medicine Grand Rounds 2021," the school held an event titled "Anti-racist health policy: remedy, poison, or both?"

School leadership put out a statement and resources, including "We are Living in a Racist Pandemic" and "Resources for Engaging in Anti-Racism Work."

The school has an "Anti-Racism: Resources for Education, Allyship, and Medicine" guide, which includes Ibram X. Kendi "How to Be an Antiracist" and Robin DiAngelo's "White Fragility."

The Dartmouth student newspaper reported that the dean of the medical school announced new initiatives, such as "a town hall, student seminars, medical curriculum updates and the creation of a standing committee charged with developing and implementing initiatives to increase diversity and inclusion at Geisel."

As part of its "Pediatric Grand Rounds 2021," the school held an event titled, "Anti-Racist Academic Work to address Maternal & Infant Health Inequities."

The Department of Medicine stated, "The Department of Medicine is committed to anti-racism and anti-bias practices by developing and modeling educational opportunities for our learners. Our learners will acquire the knowledge and skills to recognize and redress disparities and inequities that impact individual patient and population health, implicit bias in the health care setting, present-day systemic barriers and their historical contexts, and inappropriate use of race-based medicine as a proxy for genetic or biological risk. We are committed to a culture of safety in our work environment and community spaces that allows us to be compassionate and empathetic to each other and our patients."

In 2020, the school's Office of the Dean published its "Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Programs Dashboard" which outlines its many initiatives and programs. (The majority of the initiatives are labeled as "In Progress.")

The Office of Diversity, Inclusion, and Community Engagement (DICE) at the Geisel School of Medicine "serves as an advisor to underrepresented students and student groups and works to support and ensure the success and retention of all minority students, faculty, and staff."

Dartmouth-Hitchcock Health formed its Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging Task Force "to understand the current efforts across the D-HH system to increase diversity, inclusion and equity and to provide a space for our employees to share their stories anonymously."

According to Inside Higher Ed, the medical school will "continue to be called the Geisel School of Medicine, despite a recent controversy over the works of Dr. Seuss, the pen name of Theodor Geisel."

The school tweeted, "Geisel, @thayerschool , @DartGrad stand with @aaas to eradicate anti-black racism in academia and STEM. We call upon our colleagues to reflect and commit to action for a more inclusive and equitable STEM community. #blacklivesmatter"

The medical school hosts monthly seminar series that “highlights innovative epidemiological research and topics related to anti-racism and health disparities.”

A study led by Dartmouth Health neurologists states that “racism is to blame for unequal health outcomes for Black Americans” and that “Antiracist efforts must be embraced by all neurologists.”

In January of 2023, the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth hosted its 17th Annual MLK Health Equity Celebration.

The Geisel School of Medicine announced Chidi Chike Achebe, “founder, CEO, and chairman of Boston, MA-based, Delaware registered, African Integrated Development Enterprise (AIDE PBC),” as the featured guest speaker for the 2023 Class Day Ceremony.

On April 5, 2023, the School of Medicine announced that the Dartmouth Cancer Center is searching to hire a Director of DEI.

The Geisel School of Medicine states that its “strategic goals impact several domains, including Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging.”

In May 2023, it was reported that MENASA at the Geisel School of Medicine was awarded the 2023 Social Justice Award as part of the school’s “longstanding commitment to the values of diversity, equity, and inclusion.”