Social Justice Commitment

Ross University School of Medicine (RUSM) is committed to address racism and bias in sexual orientation, nationality, ethnicity, and gender in the fight for social justice. We believe that inequities caused by racism constitute a public health crisis which must be addressed, and we support antiracist initiatives. We support the broader inclusion of underrepresented and marginalized groups in education and in the medical field. Our TEACH values (Teamwork, Energy, Accountability, Community and Heart) will be our guide as we embark on the first step in a long journey to achieve cultural diversity in medical care.

In order to ensure that we address our internal environment as well as align to address the external conditions that we can influence, we are making the following commitments:

OUR COMMITMENTS

TO EDUCATE OURSELVES, OUR FACULTY, OUR COLLEAGUES, AND OUR STUDENTS AS PART OF A CONTINUOUS EFFORT TO GROW, LEARN, AND CHANGE:

• By Listening: We will create safe spaces for sharing, listening, and engaging in uncomfortable conversations;

• By Learning: We will confront racism and unconscious bias to address and fight for social justice within our institutions through formal and informal training;

• By Studying: We will review our academic and non-academic experiences in our institutions to ensure we are training and graduating healthcare professionals that will be a positive influence in the communities they serve with ethnic and racial sensitivity; and

• By Acting: We will empower our diversity and inclusion committees and other internal organizational groups with time and resources, and then act upon their collective recommendations.

TO ADVOCATE FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE BY CONFRONTING AND ADDRESSING RACISM, IMPLICIT BIAS, AND INJUSTICE AT OUR UNIVERSITY AND IN THE COMMUNITIES WE SERVE.

• By Increasing Diversity: We will further invest in expanding the diversity of our student body, faculty, and colleagues, therefore expanding diversity in the medical and healthcare workforce;

• By Rooting Out Systemic Bias: We will continuously review the components of our educational programs, systems, and processes to ensure that we are addressing any systemic bias within our institutions;

• By Communicating: We will share our action plans and progress while also leveraging our platform to inspire external change; and

• By Partnering: We will partner with organizations that share our values so we can collectively address this public health crisis and influence the healthcare industry, the professions of our students and alumni, and the communities in which we live and work.

We will continue to hold ourselves and our organization accountable to our mission as well as to these commitments to fight against systemic racism and for social justice. Our intentions are sincere, and we will work in an open, collaborative manner. We also recognize that we will make mistakes and will need to make adjustments along the way.

We invite each of you into the dialogue and welcome your stories. We look forward to you joining us on this journey.

Adtalem is committed to increasing #diversity across the #healthcare workforce. While approximately 80 percent of all U.S. medical schools graduate 10 or fewer Black physicians a year, Adtalem’s institutions graduate more Black physicians—both male and female—than any other U.S. school at more than 100 graduates each year. #NationalHealthEducationWeek #NHEW

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