UCSF Hails Diversity Champions

By Lisa Cisneros

Longtime UCSF leader Bobby Baron, MD, MS, a professor of clinical medicine, was recognized recently for his stellar service as co-chair of the Chancellor’s Advisory Committee on Diversity (CACD). Baron, who was named chair of the Chancellor’s Advisory Committee on Academic Diversity, is among those who were honored on June 11 for being a Champion of Diversity. So far, more than 45 people have been praised for their efforts to advance diversity at UCSF in 2008. Over the past decade, more than 800 individuals at UCSF have been recognized as Champions of Diversity, according to Michael Adams, director of Affirmative Action, Equal Opportunity and Diversity (AAEOD), which created and administers the program. Those who are selected for recognition as a champion of diversity are honored with a pin that they can proudly wear and are invited to celebrate UCSF’s efforts to create a more diverse campus community at a luncheon. Beginning this year, newly recognized diversity champions will be listed in the Champions of Diversity section of this website. At this year’s luncheon, Adams also recognized Chancellor J. Michael Bishop, MD, with a plaque citing him as the “most valuable player” in nurturing diversity at UCSF. Also recognized were Marty Santos, co-chair of the CACD; Linda Centore, RN, PhD, chair of the Chancellor’s Advisory Committee on Disability Issues; James Dilley, MD, chair of the Chancellor’s Advisory Committee on Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Issues; and Claire Brindis, DrPH, chair of the Chancellor’s Advisory Committee on Status of Women.

Advancing Diversity

Serving multiple roles at UCSF, Baron is an associate dean for Graduate Medical Education and associate dean for Continuing Medical Education. He is being hailed for his tireless leadership in advancing diversity at UCSF. In May 2007, Baron led the CACD in releasing a comprehensive report which included 27 recommendations to improve diversity among faculty, staff, students and trainees at UCSF. About half of the recommendations are now being implemented and several others are being considered at UCSF. Read the CACD recommendations. “UCSF is doing a terrific job in implementing the recommendations of the Chancellor’s Advisory Committee on Diversity,” says Baron, who was recently named chair of the Chancellor’s Advisory Committee on Academic Diversity (CACAD). Among the initiatives that are now in the works and have been endorsed by the CACAD are:
  • establishing a traveling ambassador program so that UCSF representatives can go to national meetings to recruit underrepresented minorities to campus
  • evaluating supervisors and managers on the efficacy of hiring, managing and retaining diverse staff
  • supporting the development of an academic database to track faculty searches and applicant demographics
  • creating a new standing committee to coordinate all campus initiatives related to nurturing diversity among students and
  • enhancing efforts to coordinate all outreach and recruitment efforts.
Baron also worked with Adams and others to organize more than 20 events and activities that highlighted UCSF’s efforts toward building upon its commitment to diversity this past year. Among these events were the first-ever health care disparities research symposium, in which six UCSF researchers shared their findings on the impact of race and ethnicity on health, and a diversity leadership forum where Chancellor J. Michael Bishop, MD, deans and others discussed efforts to enhance diversity at UCSF. Watch videos about the health care disparities symposium and the leadership forum. “One of our true pillars of academic excellence at UCSF is the focus on eliminating health care disparities,” Baron says. “We plan to offer another symposium on health care disparities this year on October 24. This year, we will have both oral presentations and posters so that more of our community can showcase their work.” Both Baron and Adams hope that UCSF leaders will come together again this fall at another forum to update the campus community on efforts to educate, train and employ a diverse faculty, staff and student body, as recommended in the UCSF Strategic Plan. “Diversity is not a project; it’s a way of life,” Adams says. To view the entire honor roll of champions of diversity, visit http://aaeod.ucsf.edu/aaeod/2439-DSY/2635-DSY.html