From the Dean’s Desk | Our Actions Help Lead the Way Forward

At the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine, we proudly stand by the principles of diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI. Because we recognize that actions speak louder than words, two years ago we created a Diversity, Inclusion and Anti-racism Steering Committee to advance DEI efforts across every aspect of our program including admissions and student affairs; student life; curriculum; faculty development; community engagement; and more.

The steering committee oversees 10 action groups, comprising faculty, staff and students, that are charged with developing intentional and meaningful action around a particular area of DEI. It is through the collective progress of these action groups that we hope to lead the way forward, ensuring that every person within CCLCM and those with whom we work feel that they matter and that they belong.

The 10 action groups include:

• Build a Culture of Antiracism Action Group
• Research/Education Action Group
• Service Learning/Community Outreach Action Group
• Microaggression and Allyship Action Group
• Admissions and Recruitment Action Group
• Mentoring Action Group
• Curriculum Review LGBTQ+ Action Group
• Faculty Recruitment, Retention and Teaching Action Group
• Disability Action Group
• Curriculum Review Clinical Cases Action Group

I encourage you to read more about the efforts of our Microaggression and Allyship Action Group including how, through education, the group members are helping others to become skilled at not only identifying a microaggression when it happens, but also confidently responding to it. Throughout this year and next, we’ll share updates on each of our nine other action groups, highlighting the progress they’ve made toward their goals.

The action groups’ goals and progress are catalogued on the CCLCM DEI microsite, where you can read more about why we believe DEI matters, find DEI resources and more.

I also invite you to explore the new Cleveland Clinic medical education podcast channel, MedEd Thread. Recent episodes focus on the work and expertise of CCLCM faculty and students including such topics as The Impact of the Humanities on Medical School Education, Confronting Student Mistreatment and Neglect and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Medical Education. Listen to them all, and please share the link with colleagues and across your social media channels.

Bud Isaacson, MD
Executive Dean