Download the Diversity Action Plan

View the slides from the March 2013 State of Diversity event

Foundations of the Diversity Action Plan

The Diversity Action Plan builds upon the foundation created by the Diversity Advisory Council. Recognizing the value diversity brings to the campus, President Joe Robertson initiated creation of OHSU's Diversity Advisory Council, empowering it to develop a plan to support and enhance diversity and inclusion at OHSU. The council includes representatives from each of the university's mission areas and OHSU students, staff and faculty. It advises the president and the Executive Leadership Team to enhance diversity, inclusion and equal opportunity for all aspects of the university's mission and supports diversity initiatives across the university.

From November 2011 to September 2012, a Diversity Advisory Council subcommittee developed the Diversity Action Plan under the direction of Senior Vice President, Chief Administrative Officer and Chief Diversity Officer Norwood Knight-Richardson, M.D., M.A., M.B.A. The goal of the resulting plan is to improve access, advancement, retention, professional opportunities and the campus climate for all OHSU community members while aligning with business objectives.

Beginning with the 2010 Diversity Strategic Plan, opportunities to enhance diversity within OHSU's existing programs, policies, procedures and institutional norms were identified. The opportunities were then ranked according to urgency, feasibility of improvement and alignment with OHSU's Vision 2020 Strategic Plan. Based on the rankings and the climate survey results, five goals were identified as the highest priorities to address diversity among students, residents, fellows, faculty and the workforce throughout OHSU during the next five years:

Goals

1. Increase Recruitment
2. Strengthen Retention
3. Improve the Climate of Inclusion
4. Build Community Partnerships
5. Benchmark for Excellence

For each of the first four goals, the plan outlines specific strategies, identifying those responsible and what metrics will be used to measure progress.

Goal 5 measures OHSU's diversity and inclusion progress against three separate benchmarks: itself, similar academic healthcare institutions and Global Diversity and Inclusion Benchmarks.

The Diversity Action Plan is intended as a roadmap to guide the efforts of all OHSU community members and campus units. Individual units and departments are invited to enhance the goals, strategies and metrics to achieve the objectives within their groups.

The plan calls on all community members to contribute toward reaching the Diversity Action Plan goals and building an institution that leads in diversity and inclusion.

Diversity Guiding Principles and Values

Diversity and inclusion are central to OHSU's core values. The following principles and values align with OHSU's strategic vision and serve as a call to action for every member of the OHSU community.

• Diversity encompasses acceptance and respect. Every individual is unique, and we recognize individual differences complement our workforce and student enrollment in a positive way.
• Giving and receiving respect is the foundation of healthy work and learning environments.
• Inappropriate or negative comments and actions about the ability, skills or attributes of others violate OHSU's Code of Conduct.
• OHSU aspires to provide a healthy environment that cultivates unity, productivity, understanding and collaboration. All staff, students, faculty, volunteers, community partners and patients must be treated with respect.
• OHSU community members should strive for the highest degree of excellence, serve as good role models, be accountable, empower and develop others and set a standard of being fair, transparent and consistent with OHSU policies and practices.
• Leadership and management are expected to embrace diversity and create an environment of inclusion and equal access and opportunity.