SMHS Diversity Statement updated

The UND School of Medicine & Health Sciences has updated its Diversity Statement. Although the statement can be read online, it is reproduced in full below:

UND SMHS Diversity Statement

The University of North Dakota and its School of Medicine & Health Sciences (SMHS) take pride in their mission to meet the individual and group needs of a diverse and pluralistic society through education, research, and service. The people served by and associated with the SMHS vary widely; all are valued for the richness their different cultures, heritages, perspectives, and ideas they bring to the community. The SMHS is, in part, a conduit through which individual perspectives and global interrelationships are enhanced by a working, learning, and teaching environment that is aware of and sensitive to the diversity of its constituents. Diversity in the SMHS is constituted by the full participation of people of different racial and ethnic heritage, age, gender, socioeconomic background, religion, sexual orientation, and disability; and of people from other countries. Of special and particular importance is the SMHS’s longstanding commitment to the education of American Indian students and the cultures and traditions of American Indians/Alaska Natives. The SMHS’s commitment to diversity extends to students from rural America, in particular those from North Dakota, Minnesota, and states in the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE) consortium. The School has a longstanding commitment to the employment of those with an American Indian background and promotes gender equality across all hires including ensuring gender equality within the full-time faculty and full-time senior administrative staff. The SMHS is committed to providing working, learning, and teaching experiences that promote self-determination, educational advantages, and professional opportunities.