University of Virginia School of Medicine

The school’s Department of Cell Biology has discussions within the Anti-Racism and Inclusion Initiative (ARII) where they discuss racism and “why don’t white people just stop being racist.”

The school’s Department of Pathology addresses “implicit bias and systemic racism through consistent diversity and inclusion training and education” workshops for all faculty as part of a School of Medicine-wide initiative developed by the Office of Diversity and Inclusion.

The school published its "Diversity and Inclusion Strategic Plan" and includes the following training initiatives: "Incorporate learning focused on unconscious bias in diagnosis and treatment into healthcare team training," "Identify appropriate strategic diversity and inclusion development and training expectations for all employees" and "Identify ongoing diversity and inclusion training and development activities for all employees and link to performance evaluations and compensation."

The school's Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion provides a link to report acts of bias or discrimination and states, "To report an incident of hazing, sexual or gender-based violence, or bias of all protected characteristics of students and employees, use the online reporting tool Just Report It."

In its "Evaluating Statements on Contributions to Inclusive Excellence" rubric, the university asks "Has the candidate participated in any other activities which demonstrated their skills, knowledge, ability and/or experiences with diversity, equity, and inclusion?" and "Did the candidate demonstrate that they actively sought out and/or participated in development opportunities which advanced diversity, equity, and inclusion in patientcare services?"

The school is sponsoring a new leadership program and travel scholarship that is open to students who are either “underrepresented in medicine or who have a strong interest in DEI work.”

The School of Medicine is offering the Health Equity & Justice Fellowship for underrepresented applicants.

The Dean for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at the school highlighted the Strategic Plan of “promoting diversity among medical and graduate students in a variety of educational and mentoring programs.”

The Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion describes two of its initiatives; "Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Strategists: JEDIS," and the "Diversity Consortium." JEDIS work to "ensure diversity and inclusion are woven into best practices for all of their departments’ initiatives and across UVA Health," and the Diversity Consortium is an "advisory body that recommends ways to initiate, maintain and improve programs, policies, and processes that support a culture of equality, inclusion, fairness, and the value all individuals. These efforts touch upon all stakeholders in the School of Medicine, including students, Graduate Medical Education trainees, faculty, staff, patients and community."

The School of Medicine’s Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program has a website dedicated to providing resources on DEI. Archive link: https://web.archive.org/web/20230728221453/https://med.virginia.edu/bims/student-diversity/

The school’s Diversity Consortium furthers diversity and inclusion “by recommending efforts aimed at initiating, maintaining, and improving programs, policies, and processes that support a culture of equality, inclusion, fairness, and the value of all individuals.”

In October of 2020, the school earned the 2020 Health Professions Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award for its “outstanding commitment to diversity and inclusion” for the ninth consecutive year.

On April 19, 2023, it was announced that, “The School of Medicine has launched a new Center for Health Equity and Precision Public Health to improve the health and well-being of rural residents, the economically challenged and minority groups across Virginia and beyond.”