Spotlight Event: Recruitment and retention of underrepresented graduate students
"Graduate enrollment is increasing in some fields, particularly among students from underrepresented groups," said Suzanne Barbour, Ph.D., dean of Duke University's Graduate School and former professor in VCU School of Medicine's Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. "If you want to increase graduate enrollment, these are the students you need to focus on."
On Tuesday, March 14, Barbour presented her lecture on the impact of recruiting and retaining underrepresented graduate students, along with the challenges around and potential strategies to increase their enrollment.
View the recorded lecture here
Campus-Wide Events
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March 2 - 30
Women's 'HerStory' Month Events
Thursday, March 2 - Thursday, March 30
The Office of Multicultural Student Affairs has compiled a list of various university-sponsored events taking place throughout VCU in honor of Women's History Month. These events include keynote speeches, film screenings and panel discussions.
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March 17
Equitable Access to Care: Skepticism around Clinical Trials
Friday, March 17, noon - 1:30 p.m.
The VCU Office of Health Equity and the Humanities Research Center will host a panel discussion on how the history and procedures of clinical trials have affected marginalized and multi-marginalized people in the U.S. and ways to promote activism through outreach and awareness.
Panelists will include Leslie Randall, M.D., director of the Division of Gynecologic Oncology, Sandy Brooks, D.P.S., director of the Human Research Protection Program and Sharon Rivera-Sanchez, breast cancer survivor and founder of Trials of Color, a nonprofit organization designed to encourage inclusive clinical trials and other cancer research.
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March 18 - 19
Latinx in Health Care Virtual Symposium: Latinx Leadership and Resilience
Saturday, Sunday, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Collective Corazón will host a two-day virtual event highlighting Latinx health care leaders and their experiences, along with discussing the current disparities existing within the health care system and methods to challenge them.
For more information, contact Daniela Negrete at negreteda@vcu.edu.
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March 21
Project Gabriel Community Forum
Tuesday, March 21, 6 - 8 p.m.
Project Gabriel, a commission aimed to report, reconcile and heal the wounds caused by VCU’s historic ties to the institution of slavery, will host its first community forum in the cafeteria of Martin Luther King, Jr Middle School (1000 Mosby St.).
The event will feature a roundtable discussion on scholarship opportunities, community and individual economic programs and methods to memorialize the enslaved individuals who labored on MCV grounds and property.
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March 22
DIRE Conversations
Wednesday, March 22, noon - 1 p.m.
DIRE Conversations was created to provide those within the VCU Health community a safe place to connect and engage in meaningful, healthy conversations centered around pressing issues of the day. All are welcome to join, and no registration is needed.
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March 29 - April 5
Stepping in 4 Respect
Wednesday, noon - 1 p.m.
The School of Medicine’s Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion will host two in-person Stepping in 4 Respect workshops in the McGlothlin Medical Education Center (Room 5-101).
These interactive workshops utilize video scenarios, interactive debriefing discussions and improvisation experiences to help participants learn how to use a positive approach to addressing discriminatory behavior in the health care environment.
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March 31
Health Care Equity for our Transgender Community
Friday, March 31, noon - 1 p.m.
The School of Medicine’s Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion will host a panel discussion on the importance of providing equitable care for members of our transgender community in honor of Transgender Day of Visibility.
This event will discuss advocacy methods through a clinician’s and patient’s perspective, featuring panelists Madison Watkins, a member of VCU Health System’s PRIDE Team Member Resource Group, and Mary Stevenson, M.D., a physician in the Department of Internal Medicine.
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Ongoing
Filipino American Heart Health Study
Ongoing
Feel free to participate in this epidemiological study to understand how common certain heart conditions are and the genetic risk factors that lead to these diseases in Filipino Americans. To participate in this 30-40 minute study, you must be 18 years or older and identify as Filipino with both biological parents of Filipino heritage. The study will be conducted by Youssef Roman, Pharm.D., Ph.D. from VCU's School of Pharmacy, who researches health disparities within the Filipino community.
For more information, contact Youssef Roman: romany2@vcu.edu
DEI in the News
Dialogue: What We Believe
We reaffirm the core values of human dignity and of mutual, unconditional respect, and we acknowledge our responsibility to condemn racism and all forms of discrimination.
Our students, trainees, faculty, staff, alumni and community members are valued partners who provide essential perspective and context for how we more forthrightly conduct this work. Listening is the first step in making meaningful change, and we are inspired and humbled by the feedback and engagement from our School of Medicine community.
Action: What We Are Doing
We are collaborating across our campus, health system and university to foster a welcoming community that supports and values people of all cultural backgrounds and life experiences and makes our medical school a more diverse and representative place to work.
Cultivating such an environment is essential to the fulfillment of our mission to improve the quality of health care for humanity, and we are committed to engaging in dialogue across the breadth of our community to fuel our short-term, mid-range and long-term actions.
Engagement
Where We Are Headed
As a pivotal step in turning dialogue into action, the School of Medicine is proud to announce its inaugural Inclusion Council. Members include students, trainees, faculty, staff, alumni and community members who are dedicated to this vital journey.
We remain committed to communicating openly and forthrightly about pertinent developments and activities moving forward, and we welcome your continued input, advocacy and engagement.
Learn more about other efforts to address race, diversity, equity and inclusion across VCU’s campuses and in the community.
DEI Resources