USA College of Medicine joins AAMC initiative to advance diversity, equity and inclusion

Dear campus community,

In December 2021, the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) Council of Deans (COD) launched a new Collective Action Initiative on Advancing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). This initiative is designed to respond to the academic medicine community’s desire for concrete actions and accountability from medical school leaders to accelerate meaningful change that supports DEI and anti-racism efforts across U.S. and Canadian medical schools. This Collective Action Initiative is an opportunity to demonstrate a national leadership commitment to DEI and aligns with the AAMC’s Strategic Action Plan #3: “Equip Medical Schools and Teaching Hospitals to Become More Inclusive, Equitable Organizations.” I am pleased to announce that we have joined this national effort.

As part of the COD Collective Action Initiative on Advancing DEI, 109 medical schools are participating in a collective administration of the Diversity, Inclusion, Culture and Equity (DICE) Inventory. The DICE Inventory is a tool to help institutions conduct a comprehensive review of institutional policies, practices, procedures and programs that impact the climate and culture around DEI and identify strengths and areas for improvement related to DEI in six domains: governance, leadership and mission; institutional planning and policies; communications and engagement; data and assessment; faculty and staff; and students. This project is a collaborative effort that will be led by members from across our medical school and completed between now and May 2022.

Participating in this initiative will help our school improve our organizational climate and culture by outlining our specific strengths and areas for improvement related to DEI. The AAMC will create a report of the aggregated national data for this initiative, analyzing trends in DEI policies, programs and practices across all medical schools, which will allow us to benchmark our progress. Participating in this initiative alongside national peers also will facilitate the development of future AAMC resources that will support our efforts to be a diverse, equitable, and inclusive institution. Participation also supports the College of Medicine’s meeting and exceeding accreditation standards of the national accrediting body for U.S. medical schools, the Liaison Committee on Medical Education.

We look forward to participating in this exciting national initiative. We will update the campus community on the findings from this assessment and the development of related action plans to further our DEI efforts at the University of South Alabama College of Medicine.

Best,

Dr. John Marymont
Vice President for Medical Affairs, Dean of the College of Medicine