University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS)

On September 7, 2022, "UAMS News" published an article entitled "UAMS Associate Professor to Lead Project That Helps to Address Unconscious Biases in Arkansas Health Care" and stated that "The unconscious bias trainings will launch in October and continue through May 2023. Getting a number of Arkansas’ health care students to take the unconscious bias training is among the main goals. An important component of that mission is to first have the students’ instructors complete and learn about the facets of the unconscious bias training." The trainings are supported by a $600,000 grant from the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention.

On October 29, 2020, the school's "UAMS News' published an announcement from the Division for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion which states, "Per the Vision 2029 strategic plan, UAMS will require completion of a cultural humility/implicit bias workshop, on an annual basis, for all UAMS faculty and staff state-wide beginning in November 2020."

The school has a Division for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, whose aim is to "intentionally advance and leverage diversity, equity, and inclusion to drive UAMS’ mission and the 2029 Strategic Plan to improve the health, health care and wellbeing of Arkansans and of others in the region, nation and world."

The school has a "Seeking Educational Equity and Diversity" or SEED program, which is used to "create a more equitable environment for all. A SEED cohort seeks to improve UAMS to make it fair and equitable."

The school's Division for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion has a guide on "Effective Faculty Hiring Practices." The concepts that "underlie the development of this guide" include "Equity" and "Cultural Competency."

School officials, including the executive director for the UAMS Division for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, organized a "White Coats for Black Lives" event.

Members of the UAMS community "gathered in front of UAMS Medical Center to oppose disparities and structural racism in health care that adversely affect Black communities and to hear about efforts by the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) to provide equitable care for everyone."

The UAMS Division for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion "hosted a series of online safe spaces the week of June 8 for students and employees to discuss current events." The school said, "The sessions were designed as an open, online safe space for employees and students to discuss current events and to promote healing conversations about race and race relations moderated by DDEI staff."

On December 5, 2022, the school's Department of Biomedical Informatics published an article titled "DBMI Team Publishes on Virtual Diversity Curriculum" which states "A team of researchers from the Department of Biomedical Informatics (DBMI) has published its work developing and testing a diversity, equity and inclusion curriculum for use in higher education," and that "The paper details the development of the pilot course curriculum in the wake of the murder of George Floyd in summer 2020. The course was implemented as a pilot program at the University of Florida."

The Center for Diversity Affairs was "reorganized into the Division for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion" in 2020.

The school's Department of Pediatrics issued an "Anti-Racism Statement" which says in part, "We commit to recognizing and addressing systemic racism, and working to eliminate it by changing systems, organizational policies, practices and attitudes in order to redistribute power equitably."

The UAMS DDEI Staff Subcommittee works towards “focusing on URM staff-related issues and initiatives aimed to intentionally impact the recruitment, engagement and retention of potential and current URM staff.” The committee hosts events such as the “Bridge Builders - The Path to Mentorship” event for underrepresented staff members.

UAMS hosts the Underrepresented Minority Student Recruitment Retention, and Engagement Subcommittee which “seeks to examine recruitment, retention and engagement practices and how these factors impact UAMS’ commitment to inclusive excellence.” This subcommittee hosts events such as the Remix Red Table Talk.

The Division for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Engagement Subcommittee seeks to employ “campus-wide initiatives/events that further the mission of the DDEI.”

On May 7, 2023, UAMS’s Division for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion held the Underrepresented in Health Graduation Celebration.