RJCC Updates

Racial Justice Committee for Change 2020-2021 Report

Released October 1, 2021

Executive Summary

Since our last report, December 15, 2020, each subcommittee has been charged with achieving short term goals, and making progress towards intermediate and long term goals. Obtaining data to establish long term goals and collaboration was challenging but achieved in almost all subcommittees with few exceptions. While considerable progress has been made, and responsiveness to RJCC requests have been positive overall, several committees and entities remain resistant to engaging in dialogue or providing data as requested. The Steering Committee would like to especially express frustration on perceived non-responsive GUSOM leaders, and urge immediate action from the office of the Executive Vice President.

The RJCC has met with members of the School of Nursing and Health Studies, and Biomedical Graduate Education, and the RJCC Co-Chairs regularly attend meetings of the MedStar Working Group for Racial Justice. We have accepted applicants from both the School of Nursing and Health Studies, Biomedical Graduate Education, and the Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center to serve on the newly formed standing RJCC. While the RJCC has had tremendous short-term successes there have been tremendous challenges. In summary:

• All graduating students in 2021 who served on the RJCC received Racial Justice Advocacy Awards and $500 awards. We need to establish an annual $3,000 student award for students serving on the RJCC.
• We need to continue coordinated efforts with the Committee on Admissions to maintain the gains in diversity of the School of Medicine incoming class of 2025, increased to 30% of students from groups underrepresented in medicine.
• $208,000 in new scholarships were committed for disadvantaged students. We need to establish a targeted annual fund for increasing diversity.
• We need a coordinated plan with the DEI Community of Practice regarding faculty representation, hiring practices, and retention of URIM.
• We need assistance with engagement from the following committees, departments, or divisions at GUMC. We are asking for them to work directly with RJCC members to obtain further data, review policies, and consider optimization to work toward racial equity, diversity, and inclusiveness.
  • COS
  • AOA Honor Society
  • Gold Humanism Honor Society
  • COME
• We need support and assistance to work with SiTEL on development of antiracism and bias mitigation modules.
• We will incorporate community engagement and health equity into goals and objectives of the RJCC by transitioning the Safety & Campus Police Relations subcommittee to Campus and Community Engagement.
• We will incorporate clinical learning environment goals and objectives into the RJCC in the Curricular Reform subcommittee to directly address bias in clinical grading and mistreatment in the learning environment.
• The largest barrier to success for subcommittees’ goals is that most faculty and staff do not have protected time to work on these efforts. Faculty and staff must do the heavy lifting to allow students their study time.