Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine at Western Michigan University

Regarding the topic of a diverse student body, the school states that "Several initiatives are used to foster inclusiveness and diversity including our Medical Student Recruitment Plan that guides the process to recruit medical students, with specific actions to continue to enhance the diversity of our medical student body."

The school's General Surgery Residency Program states, "We specifically seek a diverse applicant pool by marketing our fourth-year electives to medical students from groups typically underrepresented in medicine."

The school's Commitment to Diversity and Inclusiveness Policy states, "WMed is committed to the recruitment and advancement of students, residents, fellows, faculty, and staff from diverse backgrounds and to their inclusiveness into WMed’s academic community as valued and respected members."

The school's Ally Training Program "serves as a catalyst for culture change at the medical school and is helping to embed the work of diversity, equity, inclusion, and social justice into the fabric of the institution." The program "involves participation by at least one person from every department and administrative unit at the medical school, in a series of workshop presentations on topics including implicit bias, systemic racism, mental health inequities, LGBTQ+ inequities, gender bias, and ableism."

The school's General Surgery Residency Program states that it "implements annual actions to enhance our commitment to diversity, including required annual education for faculty and residents focused on unconscious bias, as well as diversity and cultural sensitivity."

The school hosts annual resident and faculty education that is "focused on unconscious bias, as well as health equity, diversity, and cultural sensitivity."

The WMed Ally Training Program hosts regular trainings, which includes upcoming trainings such as "Justice at Work, Identity and Power," "Justice at Work, Understanding Oppression," and "Cultivating Psychological Safety and Building a Culture of Inclusivity," among others.

The school has an Organization Policy and Procedure titled "Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion." It states the school "monitors for inappropriate bias or exclusion of people."

Regarding residency recruitment, the school states that "The organization implements annual actions to enhance our commitment to diversity, including required annual education for faculty and residents focused on unconscious bias, as well as diversity and cultural sensitivity."

On June 8, 2021, the school received a gift of $300 million titled the "Empowering Futures Gift." The school describes the need for this grant in the following way: "Through the development of new strategies to attract and retain students and educators of color, innovations in curricula and teaching pedagogy, and creative partnerships with healthcare, business, and education are needed for WMed to become a more inclusive and diverse learning community."

The Jon Stryker Slovadon Ranjelovic Scholarship was created "to provide financial assistance to students underrepresented in medicine to widen the diversity of the student body at the medical school." The endowment was originally a gift of $5 million given in 2021.

The Early Introduction to Health Careers pathway programs (EIH) at WMed are initiatives that "empower underrepresented elementary, middle and high school students... and fuel their dreams of future careers in the biomedical science and healthcare fields." The school states it accepts all applicants and encourages "any persons with diverse life experiences to apply" and it "is committed to fostering a learning environment that values, welcomes, celebrates, and appreciates diversity and inclusiveness." 

The school's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion podcast series is "drawn" from the "Courageous Conversations" speaker series and "aims to provide education on diversity, equity, inclusiveness, and social justice to the WMed and surrounding community."

On June 25, 2020, the school published an article titled "Medical School Community Takes a Stand Against Racism Amid Nationwide Unrest," which states that the school's community "took a stand against racism with several events in June, from voicing that black lives matter, to denouncing racism and holding tough conversations about race." The article features a picture of medical school community members holding a sign that says "White Coats for Black Lives." 

The Med School has an Office of Diversity and Inclusion, Health Equity, and Community Affairs. It states the school is committed to fostering a learning and working environment that "celebrates human diversity and cultural pluralism through inclusiveness, acceptance, mutual respect, and empowerment" and "delivers excellent clinical care with equity."

WMed launched a new course entitled “An Introduction to Tribal Health” that is "available to members of the WMed community, as well as the broader community." The class is offered through the offices of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusiveness and Continuing Education. It "provides an overview of the current state of health and health systems for Indigenous peoples in the United States and beyond, and includes a brief history of major events that have significantly impacted the health of Indigenous peoples from pre-colonial times until present day."

On June 5, 2020, school leadership issued a "Statement on Racial Inequity" and said, "The deeply rooted problems of racial inequality and structural racism in America have come again to the forefront with the wrongful deaths of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd." Additionally, the school's leaders stated the following: "We are compelled to Demonstrate our commitment to the community by re-affirming and demonstrating our willingness to eliminate any racism, discrimination, and bias within our own institution, in our service to the community, in our education of learners, and in the care that we provide to our patients and their families."