Our goal is to build and sustain a culture where everyone is safe, supported and welcome.
We recognize that diversity, equity and inclusion not only hold intrinsic value, but also enhance our excellence. As individuals and collectively, we are at our best in an environment where everyone is welcomed, valued and celebrated as their most authentic selves.
At the same time, we also are aware of and concerned about elements of the culture here at Washington University School of Medicine that can lead to a negative climate atmosphere for members of our WashU Medicine community.
In December 2023, the WashU Medicine Executive Faculty Task Force on Climate & Culture completed a year-long assessment of our learning environments and shared its findings and recommendations for fostering a more inclusive climate and culture. An Implementation Task Force was established at this time to set priorities for moving forward with the recommendations and to oversee their implementation.
The Implementation Task Force is committed to the challenging work ahead. While improving policies and procedures is a critical part of improving our climate and culture, we all play a role in building a more inclusive environment where everyone is welcome and valued and can thrive. We are grateful for your support as we move forward, as a community, in building a climate and culture that we can all be proud of.
Priorities
Recommendations, based on the initial assessment of climate and culture, focus on five key categories:
Reporting of sexual harassment and unprofessional behaviors.
Assessing climate and culture on an ongoing basis.
Preventing unacceptable behaviors, including retaliation for reporting such behaviors.
Assessing and enhancing leadership skills, with a focus on division chiefs, section heads and principal investigators.
Focusing attention on any potential or perceived inequities in faculty career advancement.