School to open Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion

A new Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) at Schulich Medicine & Dentistry will be opening soon, and be responsible for leadership, management, direction, and implementation on matters related to EDI, bias, anti-racism and Indigenous initiatives at the School. The portfolio encompasses the London and Windsor campuses and the distributed sites across Southwestern Ontario.
 
“EDI, anti-racism and Indigenous affairs have special meaning for our School,” said Dr. John Yoo. “Beyond the obvious importance of social accountability, this issue is at the very core for health providers.”
 
Taking the lead will be a new Associate Dean, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, who will serve as a member of the School’s leadership team.
 
The incumbent will be a strong advocate and influencer within and external to our School and the broader University. Immediate priorities for the new Associate Dean will be to ensure that we meet the Calls to Action 23 and 24 from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, support the Doctor of Medicine program accreditation, and provide direction and leadership to advance the University’s overall EDI mission. The new leader will also work with curriculum specialists to renew the School’s medical and dental curriculums to address EDI, anti-racism and Indigenous health.
 
The Associate Dean will be joined by Melanie Katsivo, PhD, who will be returning to the School in the role as an Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Specialist.
 
Dr. Yoo says that students charged the entire University with a call to action last summer (2020). And the School took several important steps toward the creation of the Office and the new leadership role.
 
“We have been deliberate in our approach and believe the timing is right to introduce such a role into our leadership team,” he said. “We must aim high as a leading Canadian university, and this will happen by thinking bigger than we have before and inspiring people.
 
“We need a healthy amount of impatience and unwillingness to accept incrementalism in order to achieve our objectives in a meaningful timeframe,” he added. “Our continuing work on anti-racism, diversity, equity and inclusion is critical in our pursuit of excellence.”
 
A posting for the new Associate Dean, EDI, will be posted in the coming weeks.