Page 17 - SCIE Ambassador Program Strategic Brief
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Recommendation: Increase Student & Faculty Diversity
Ambassadors: Elena Fernandez, Rebaz Waise, Alexandra Hoffman, Stequita Hankton
Facilitator: Kevin Harris, M.S.A., Interim Associate Vice President for Health Sciences and Assistant Vice
President for Health Sciences
Outline of the Recommendation
To increase student and faculty diversity, SCIE Ambassadors recommend engaging the student
population as partners in the earlier developmental stages of inititatives. With regard to increasing
student diversity, it is recommended that a recruitment plan be developed that includes making
connections with minority serving institutions. This plan should also reflect the VCU Health System’s
patient population, including the metro Richmond area and not just the city of Richmond.
It is recommended that in order to best recruit students from underrepresented backgrounds, existing
health sciences students who have similar backgrounds should be part of the recruitment process. This
would allow for the development of meaningful connections that will not only facilitate recruitment but
would aid in providing support to these students upon and throughout their enrollment. Specific
suggestions as to how to best achieve diverse student engagement includes targeting individuals once
they declare pre‐health as their course of study, and ensuring that student applicants from
underrepresented backgrounds have ample opportunity to meet with current students with similar
backgrounds during interviews and visits. These relationships should be fostered after their enrollment
to create meaningful, long lasting connections with the university and other students. Further, it is
critical that student applicants from minority backgrounds and other underrepresented demographics
have the opportunity to connect personally with school administrators to receive guidance and
mentorship. During the student application process, it is also critical to highlight the inclusion related
research in which VCU faculty are engaged.
One strategy for increasing faculty diversity is to include current students from minority backgrounds
and other underrepresented demographics on search committees in all five health sciences schools. Up
to this point there have been very few known faculty recruitment and retention discussions that have
involved students. Another recommended strategy is to develop current students who have already
expressed an interest in teaching. By developing a mentorship program to nurture and guide these
students, we create an internal pipeline to diversify VCU health sciences faculty. SCIE Ambassadors
suggest educating students about the costs and benefits of private practice versus a career in the
academy as well. It is also recommended that the university reach out to recent alumni from
underrepresented backgrounds who may be interested in returning to VCU to give back. During
recruitment it will be important to demonstrate the university’s commitment to changing the
composition of the faculty and student body so that it is more reflective of the patient population.
Additionally, it is essential that the university make clear that these faculty members will receive the
necessary resources to establish and cultivate relationships with students from diverse backgrounds.
Who are the Strategic Partners?
The partners needed for these recommendations includes each of the health sciences schools, from the
Dean’s of these schools to the hiring committees within the departments and faculty. Current students
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