Working to Ensure Greater Equity in the Stritch Community
Dear Stritch Community:
We have heard the voices of our students in their “Petition to Affirm the Dignity of Black Lives,” and we commit in broad terms to enact the changes proposed in this petition. We value our students’ thoughtful and inclusive approach. We also acknowledge the spirit of this petition arising out of love and concern for our beloved institution.
As we begin a new school year, we would like to outline some of the initial actions we are taking to ensure greater equity within the Stritch community. We commit to ensuring equity across broad areas including, but not limited to: curriculum development, hiring, scholarship and related funds, and student wellness. In fact, the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (ODEI) and the Dean’s Office already have addressed some of these concerns and have made progress on others.
The ODEI will now report directly to me and I will retain the title of Dean & Chief Diversity Officer. We will raise the profile and improve the resources for our ODEI. For example, one of the recommendations outlined in the petition is to ensure that a minimum percentage of third and fourth year clerkship experiences be completed in a health professional shortage area. We are tracking those numbers and we will communicate them regularly.
Another recommendation: increase funding for student mental health initiatives, with additional focus on Black students. Over the last several months, we conducted an audit of HSC health and wellness services and have appointed a Vice Dean of Professional Formation. We anticipate introducing expanded services in the coming weeks that respond to the need for more culturally-sensitive services. We are committed to creating a fund for racial healing within ODEI.
More work and action awaits. As you can imagine, some changes can be implemented more quickly than others and some require following established processes. We will need some time to identify resources and create (or revisit) structures to ensure that the changes we make are foundational and longstanding. We are committed to working with students, faculty, and staff to move initiatives forward and level the playing field. Along with our resolve to make progress is a renewed commitment to communicate that progress on an ongoing basis to the Stritch community.
Our efforts at Stritch are aligned with Loyola University Chicago’s efforts to address racism both within the Loyola community and beyond. Earlier this month, Provost Grzywacz in conjunction with all University Deans, announced three initiatives to address racism at Loyola:
- Creating the Loyola Anti-Racism Initiative.
- Increasing faculty diversity and improving the climate among faculty of color.
- Developing a transformative University institute dedicated to uprooting racism, dismantling systemic racial subjugation, and promoting racial justice, healing, and reconciliation. Initially, an audit will be conducted to better understand individual and collective teaching, research, and community engagement activities related to racial justice.
We are confident that by working together as a community and with ODEI, we will ensure that Stritch adopts and practices a more inclusive approach to address and ensure the needs of students who have been marginalized.
We look forward to that journey with you and to outlining next steps. We have scheduled a follow up meeting on July 22 with the student group and will be presenting a business plan and timeline addressing the petition initiatives.
Sincerely,
Sam J. Marzo, MD, on behalf of SSOM ODEI and SSOM Leadership