Four health sciences colleges lauded for diversity efforts
Ohio State is the only academic institution in the country to have four colleges receive the 2019 Health Professions HEED award
Four health sciences graduate programs at The Ohio State University have received an award distinguishing colleges and universities for their diversity and inclusion efforts.
INSIGHT into Diversity magazine, the oldest and largest diversity-focused publication in higher education, recognized the College of Medicine, College of Nursing, College of Optometry and College of Veterinary Medicine with the 2019 Health Professions Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award.
Ohio State is the only academic institution in the country to have four colleges receive the 2019 Health Professions HEED award.
“Diversity in people and ideas is one of our shared values at Ohio State,” said Executive Vice President and Provost Bruce A. McPheron. “As Buckeyes, we are committed to advancing inclusive excellence across our campuses and communities.”
“We’re committed to fostering a culture of diversity and inclusion throughout our university and the health sciences,” said Dr. Hal Paz, executive vice president and chancellor for health affairs at Ohio State and CEO of The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. “This award celebrates the amazing work our faculty, staff and students do every day to create an environment where everyone feels valued and has a safe space to work and learn.”
The Health Professions HEED award process consists of a comprehensive application that includes questions relating to the recruitment and retention of students and employees, leadership support for diversity and other aspects of campus diversity and inclusion. Ohio State diversity and inclusion efforts include:
- College of Medicine: a focus on mitigating implicit bias in its admissions process and providing implicit bias training to College of Medicine and Ohio State Wexner Medical Center leadership, faculty and staff. Inclusive excellence in leadership is an integral part of the strategic plan, evident in the recent hire of four female department chairs. This brings the percentage of female leaders in the College of Medicine to 22%.
- College of Nursing: offering services to support student success, including clinical opportunities in diverse communities locally and abroad. The Summer Institute for Discovering Nursing program strives to increase the number of nursing students from underrepresented populations. The Barbers and Beauticians Who Care and Ask a Buckeye Nurse programs provide health screenings in underserved communities in central Ohio.
- College of Optometry: providing outreach programs to underrepresented minority students to educate them about how the eye works, vision disorders, eye diseases, eye safety, the importance of eye examinations and the optometric profession. The Improving Diversity of Optometric Careers summer program attracts underrepresented minority undergraduate college students from across the United States to learn about optics, eye anatomy, vision disorders and the College of Optometry admissions process.
- College of Veterinary Medicine: creating Community of Inclusion Affinity Groups that act as sites of community engagement to support an inclusive community. The Veterinary Clinical and Professional Skills Center has been integrated into the core curriculum to create stand-alone courses that provide structure for hand-on skills training from day one of coursework.
Ohio State will be featured in the December 2019 issue of INSIGHT into Diversity magazine.
