History of EDI in the School of Medicine

School of Medicine forms the first school-wide Inclusion Council with representatives from across the school to help promote a sense of belonging. 

The School of Medicine hosts Conversation about Race with stakeholders from across the School of Medicine. More than 250 members of the school attend. 

In partnership with the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, Duke physicians are featured in “Black Men in White Coats” video series.  

The first School of Medicine cohorts of the Teaching for Equity Fellowship program, a year-long series of professional development workshops that give faculty tools to better engage all students in classrooms, clinics, and other learning spaces, begins. 

ADVANCE-UP (Academic DeVelopment, Advocacy, Networking, Coaching and Education for Underrepresented Populations) program was started to provide unique enrichment activities designed to focus on experiences underrepresented racial and ethnic faculty (UREF) encounter in academic medical centers. 

The Black Men in Medicine (BMIM) initiative aims to develop and support the needs of black male faculty, students, trainees and learners in the School of Medicine and to cultivate future healthcare and biomedical science professionals to address the historical underrepresentation of black men in medicine.  

In response to the COVID-19 Crisis, the Office of Diversity & Inclusion publishes a series of more than 50 vetted and curated resources and articles detailing the intersections between diversity, equity and inclusion and COVID-19, as well as ways that the pandemic is disproportionately harming marginalized populations.  

On June 16, 2020, in place of her annual State of the School address, Dean Mary Klotman, MD, led a special town hall that launched the Moments to Movement initiative, committing the School of Medicine to dismantling structural racism within the school and creating an equitable, welcoming environment for everyone within its walls. 

In January, a cadre of Black faculty members from across the School of Medicine write the COST for Black Faculty—Communication to Operationalize Sustainability, Solidarity, Sponsorship, and Trust—letter to their colleagues detailing their experiences dealing with the effects of systemic racism and the COVID-19 pandemic. The narratives and recommendations shared in the letter were used to inform and advance the Moments to Movement initiative across the School of Medicine.  

In June 2021, after a year and a half of intensive work by nearly 100 members of the School of Medicine who participated on four different stakeholder committees, Duke University School of Medicine launched its anti-racism strategic plan, called “Dismantling Racism and Advancing Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in the School of Medicine.” 

Kevin Thomas, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine, is named Duke University School of Medicine’s first Vice Dean for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion. 

The Office of Diversity & Inclusion is renamed the Office of Equity, Diversity & Inclusion.