Dear School of Medicine community,
A year ago, we embarked on an ambitious and necessary journey toward a more inclusive environment at the School of Medicine by forming the Executive Faculty Task Force on Climate & Culture, composed of junior and senior faculty and representatives from our training programs and the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.
The Task Force was charged with leading efforts to assess our learning and academic environments, and to identify aspects of our climate and culture that can lead to a negative atmosphere for women, people of color, and other vulnerable members of our community. Our goal was – and still is – to improve and sustain a culture where everyone is safe, supported and welcome.
Thanks to your participation, the Task Force has completed the first phase of this work. Today, we are pleased to share two reports that detail the results of the Task Force’s work. One report comes from Catalyst, a consulting group with expertise in workplace inclusion that we hired to independently assess our climate and culture. The second report comes from the Executive Faculty Task Force and builds on the Catalyst report.
These two thorough reports were shared earlier this week with the Executive Faculty. We encourage you to visit the Task Force website to read both reports, as well as a summary of the findings and recommendations.
We extend our heartfelt gratitude to everyone who contributed to the process by completing the schoolwide survey and participating in focus groups, interviews and listening sessions, or by sharing your thoughts via the anonymous feedback form on the Task Force website. We appreciate your time, candor, and thoughtfulness.
Key recommendations
Based on your input and the data collected by Catalyst, the Task Force developed a series of recommendations in the following five categories:
- Reporting of sexual harassment and unprofessional behaviors.
- Assessing climate and culture on an ongoing basis.
- Preventing unacceptable behaviors, including any 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.
Some recommendations are being acted upon already, such as our efforts to modernize the promotion criteria for faculty. We are updating the Appointments & Promotions Guidelines and Requirements (APGAR) to recognize and reward the full range of faculty activities and the diversity of careers in academic medicine. We have also been working to develop systems to monitor time to promotion for our faculty. Our colleagues in Human Resources are exploring options to simplify the reporting systems and have initiated work on a new process for systematic faculty exit surveys to help monitor climate and culture, and to help us proactively address problems, if necessary.
Importantly, the Task Force recognizes that in the hierarchical culture of academic medicine, improving the climate requires a focus on faculty leaders. Consequently, many of the recommendations are aimed at supporting leaders to encourage behaviors that foster an inclusive culture, with the understanding that this will improve the climate for learners, staff, and junior faculty members.
Next steps
Moving forward with the recommendations and into a new phase of the process, the Executive Faculty is forming an Implementation Task Force that will be headed by Michael S. Avidan, MBBCh, the Dr. Seymour and Rose T. Brown Professor and head of the Department of Anesthesiology, and Linda J. Richards, PhD, the Edison Professor of Neurobiology and head of the Department of Neuroscience. The new Task Force will be composed of department heads and representatives from Human Resources and the Office of General Counsel, key leaders with the authority to enact the recommendations highlighted in the new reports. In 2024, you will hear more from the Implementation Task Force about their plans and progress.
In the meantime, you can continue to help improve our climate and culture by reporting concerns and sharing your insights. You also have access to free resources and training on workplace inclusivity available through our collaboration with Catalyst.
People at all levels of our medical school can make a real, lasting impact on the climate in which learners, staff, and faculty work and study. It is crucial that the School of Medicine community and its leaders take action to demonstrate that harassment and unprofessional behavior are unacceptable and that retaliation against those who report any such behaviors is not tolerated. We all play a role, and we thank you for working together with us as we continue to develop a healthier, more supportive climate and culture we can all be proud of.
Sincerely,
Benjamin Garcia, PhD, co-chair
Raymond H. Wittcoff Distinguished Professor and Head of the Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biophysics
Dineo Khabele, MD, co-chair
Mitchell & Elaine Yanow Professor and Head of the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology
Renée Shellhaas, MD, MS, administrative director
David T. Blasingame Professor of Neurology and Associate Dean for Faculty Promotions & Career Development