Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
The Biological Sciences Division (BSD) strives to create an environment that welcomes and promotes diversity of thought and experience as essential features for advancing human knowledge and enabling transformative education. Authentic engagement with people whose views and paths differ from our own allows us to challenge assumptions and generate the most impactful, field-defining research and healthcare delivery. An academic climate that is diverse and inclusive promotes rigorous inquiry through encouraging critical examination of assumptions, often the first step toward breakthrough discoveries and treatments.
The BSD is committed to encouraging a multiplicity of voices, as this is foundational to free expression and academic freedom. This culture of free expression exists across academic, research, and clinical settings that includes people of many different backgrounds, experiences, and ideas. Promoting a culture of diversity and inclusion strengthens the BSD’s distinctive intellectual character and supports our Elevate 2035 strategic plan for continual growth as a leading research and healthcare delivery organization anchored on the South Side of Chicago. This culture deepens our ability to connect with and positively impact communities locally, nationally, and globally.
To learn more about our work, including our 2024 Strategic Plan, please contact us at dei@bsd.uchicago.edu.
Our Work
The DEI Steering Committee oversees our commitment to this mission through six domains that are integrated into our everyday work:
- Clinical Care, Access, and Continuity: Providing equitable care and integrating social determinants of health into our practice
- Communications: Highlighting our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion through formal and informal communications and celebrating our accomplishments within the work environment
- Community Engagement and Advocacy: Building trust with members of our community and advocating for change
- Education and Evaluation: Upgrading our curricula for trainees, faculty, and staff, addressing bias in recruitment and evaluation, and teaching anti-racism
- Hiring, Career Development, and Promotion: Recruiting diverse clinicians and staff, mentoring, and creating avenues for career development
- Wellness: Mitigating psychological distress associated with bias or discrimination
We’re very appreciative of the robust enthusiasm from our amazing DEI subcommittee members; many of our subcommittees have grown substantially within the past few months! Through our educational discussions and significant initiatives, it is our hope that DEI stays embedded in all the work that we do – in the OR, clinic, and beyond. We must remain dedicated to our DEI mission, and understand that the structure needs to evolve like an ecosystem; we’re all in this together. To that end, as we strive to strengthen all aspects of inclusion both within our department and beyond, support from the DOS community is critical.
Email us at dei@bsd.uchicago.edu if you're interested in joining one of our subcommittees!
Leadership
-
Chelsea Dorsey, MD
Vice Chair, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion -
Brandon Baird, MD
Co-Director, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Steering Committee -
Jeffrey Matthews, MD
Chair, Department of Surgery -
Julian Owens
Assistant Director, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Steering Committee
- Association of Women Surgeons
- Society of Black Academic Surgeons
- Society of Asian Academic Surgeons
- Association of Native American Medical Students
- Student National Medical Association
- Latino Medical Student Association
- APDS Diversity and Inclusion Toolkit
- Latino Surgical Society
- Association of Out Surgeons and Allies
- LMSA Mentorship Program
- The Macy Foundation’s supplement on Addressing Harmful Bias and Eliminating Discrimination in Health Professions Learning Environments is now live on the Academic Medicine website, featuring articles by UChicago Pritzker and BSD colleagues.
Doctor on dealing with both pandemic and rise in gun violence (2020)
Understanding Health Inequity and the Long Chain of Causes (February 2023)
Dr. Brian Williams On Racism, Violence, And Healing (October 2023)
Dr. Selwyn Rogers Election to National Academy of Medicine Election (October 2024)
Dr. Anthony Douglas’s Testimony on Reducing Prescription Drug Costs (October 2024)
Deep Cuts is the newest podcast from The University of Chicago Department of Surgery exploring why diversity, equity, and inclusion matter in surgery, and how these topics impact the patients and community served on the South Side of Chicago. Click the link below to learn more.
The Mission Aligned Trainees to Explore Residency (MATTER) at UChicago Visiting Clerkship Program is co-sponsored by the Pritzker School of Medicine and UChicago Medicine GME Office and participating departments as a supplement to our regular Visiting Clerkship Program. This competitive program provides mentoring, networking, and stipend support for fourth-year medical students interested in addressing health inequities and social determinants of health in the Chicago community. In addition to completing the rotation in the participating department, scholars will attend GME community engagement activities and curriculum.
Please click here for more information.