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Letter from the Provost | Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Update

May 24, 2021
Rocky Vista University News Room

Letter from the Provost | Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Update

[May 19, 2021 – Parker, CO]

Dear RVUCOM community,

The University is committed to create a safe and welcoming environment where all can thrive. This is a commitment that we are taking very seriously and have been working diligently to making DEI an ongoing key strategic focus.

The four Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Task Force (DEITF) groups (Community, Curriculum, Communication, and Climate) completed their work at the end of March culminating in formal presentations to the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Advisory Council (DEIAC).

Following these presentations, the DEIAC met to further discuss the proposals and recommendations and determine next steps. This was the first of many meetings that will take place over the next several months to work through all of the recommendations provided.

After their initial review of the DEITF recommendations, the DEIAC is committed to the following first steps:

Community

  • Commitment to supporting mini-medical schools or other programs on RVU campuses to introduce underrepresented groups to medical professions.

Curriculum

  • Commitment to including DEI on the University-wide Climate Survey that will be administered in the Fall of 2021.
  • Commitment from the RVU Board of Trustees to provide University-wide anti-racism and anti-bias training.

Communication

  • Commitment to a regular column in the Vista View that focuses on DEI.

Climate

  • Commitment to formalizing the faculty hiring process to mimic the executive-level hiring process including asking questions about attitudes or philosophies concerning diversity and inclusion.
  • Commitment to targeting underrepresented medical education groups for advertising new positions.

The DEIAC will be utilizing its time over its next meetings to evaluate the remainder of the recommendations of the four DEITF. Additionally, individual departments throughout the University are actively developing and launching their own plans and processes to improve DEI within their scope of operations.  The DEIAC is compiling this information and will continue to provide updates on the initiatives and the progress made.

With your help we can continue moving forward with a transformative change to engrain Diversity, Equity and Inclusion into our culture.

Sincerely,

David Forstein, DO, FACOOG
Provost