Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
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The Office of Diversity at the College of Medicine Rockford is part of the larger UI COM Diversity Mission. The office strives to achieve the goals of diversity and inclusion for the College of Medicine Rockford campus, which are consistent across campuses while working locally to implement programs.
The Roadmap For Diversity And Inclusion Rockford Campus (updated Jan. 2021) for the University of Illinois College of Medicine Rockford campus reflects the significant efforts by the Ad Hoc Committee on Diversity and Inclusion to assess the current climate of the campus and identify the needs of our campus to create a diverse and welcoming environment. The overarching goal of the committee was to build a collaborative vision of change by working closely with trainees, faculty, and staff to make recommendations and identify priorities to create a university culture in which diversity, equity, and inclusion is valued and fundamental.
As a campus we have shown great strength and resilience, and commitment to social justice. We look forward to continuing on collaboratively to improve diversity and inclusion on our campus. Our campus town hall meeting to discuss the recommendations will be held in January 2021 but we would like for the campus to have an opportunity to review the report before the meeting. During this season, best wishes to you for peace, joy, hope, and happiness.
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Underrepresented in Medicine Student Research Program welcomes first medical student researcher
Danielle Rossell, a second-year medical student, is the first student selected for the UI COMR’s Underrepresented in Medicine Student Research Program.
This program provides medical students from groups who are underrepresented in medicine an opportunity to engage in a research project under the mentorship of experienced researchers and principal investigators.
According to the American Association of Medical Colleges, underrepresented in medicine means those racial and ethnic populations that are underrepresented in the medical profession relative to their numbers in the general population and includes students who identify as African Americans and/or Black, Hispanic/Latino, Native American (American Indians, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians), Pacific Islander, and mainland Puerto Rican. The definition also refers to students who come from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Each year, one UI COMR medical student is selected for the program, which provides up to $2,500 in funding for the duration of the student’s project in basic science, clinical, community or translational research.
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The UIC Health Sciences Campus-Rockford acknowledges Indigenous people as the traditional stewards of the land, and the enduring relationship that exists between them and their traditional territories. We honor the land of the Kiikaapoi (Kickapoo) tribe. We acknowledge the painful history of genocide and forced occupation of their territory, we honor and respect the many diverse Indigenous people connected to this land for which we gather, educate, and learn, and we recognize our responsibilities to the peoples of this land. We strive to address the history of this land so that it guides our work in the present and future.
