Working to Inspire Change

The Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee aims to foster a diverse and safe environment at TTUHSC

• By Kate Gollahon
• November 24, 2020

As part of the ongoing efforts of the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC) to address and confront the underlying causes and effects of systemic and institutional racism that exist in our country, co-chairs Erin Justyna, Ph.D., and Chris Townsend, Ph.D., have formed the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Committee.

Justyna and Townsend crafted a charter alongside Institutional Compliance Officer Sonya Castro, Assistant Professor Pat Francis-Johnson of the Professional Development Council and Associate Dean for Admissions at the School of Medicine Felix Morales, M.D. Together, this group was able to turn the dream of this committee into a reality.

How It Started

During a Provost Leadership meeting late last year, President Lori Rice-Spearman expressed a desire to immediately focus more university efforts upon diversity. In response, Justyna volunteered to lead those efforts at an institutional level. With both education and professional experience with inclusion and workplace culture, Justyna was an obvious fit for the job.

“My educational background includes aspects of diversity and social justice, and I have been heavily involved in initiatives around diversity and inclusion in my professional organization, NACDA: The Global Community for Academic Advising,” said Justyna.

Shortly after Justyna’s agreement to spearhead the focus on diversity, Doris Hereford, assistant director of student life, acquired the position of Director of Student Diversity and Inclusion. Under this appointment, she was able to form Student Ambassadors for Diversity and Inclusion (SADI). While Hereford was making huge strides to ensure that every student voice was heard, a campus-wide committee was forming.

Justyna explained that with the help of Senior Director in the Office of Global Health Michelle Ensminger, the Office of the President was able to pull in TTUHSC leaders in the area of diversity. Together, they worked to create a charter and an application for the new DEI Committee.

The application process for the DEI Committee was open to all faculty, staff and students—and there was a clear interest throughout the institution.

“We received 160 applications!” said Justyna. “We had a review team that blindly reviewed and scored all applications using a rubric. Per the charter, we ensured representation from all schools, regional campuses and Managed Care.”

The committee also has representation from each of TTUHSC’s governmental bodies—faculty senate, staff senate, and the Student Government Association—as well as other key offices such as the Office of Global Health, Student Diversity and Inclusion and Student Disability Services.

The Role of the DEI Committee

Why is such a committee important? The influence of the institution is far-reaching: the university responsible for TTUHSC team members, the West Texas community and beyond.

“As an educational institution, as a health care provider, as an employer, we have an obligation to ensure we act in socially just ways and educate others to do the same,” said Justyna.

Not only will establishing equal and inclusive practices improve the happiness and safety of those within the community, it will also create a diverse environment that is beneficial to the quality of work produced by TTUHSC.

“We need to hire faculty and staff and recruit students from diverse backgrounds and identities. Diversity of thought and talents makes us all more effective in our work and more effective as human beings in a community,” Justyna explained. “As educators, we have an obligation to ensure our graduates  are culturally competent and understand how biases and disparities affect all aspects of health care.”

Among these 19 members of the DEI Committee, there are several elements that will be addressed at each meeting, which will occur quarterly with additional meetings called as-needed. Each meeting will guide the university’s efforts by developing standards for cultural competence, recommending both short and long-term strategies for identified inequities and seeking regular feedback regarding opportunities for improvement, among other things.

Grounded by Values-Based Culture

Part of what will help turn these intentions into realities is that these objectives will align with TTUHSC’s values-based culture, which was established and laid out in 2018. To clearly illustrate how the committee ties together with the values-based culture, the members have crafted a statement:

“The Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center is committed to fostering a diverse, equitable, and inclusive environment that values and embraces the different ethnicities, races, cultures, ages, abilities, sexual identities, and systems of belief that comprise the TTUHSC community. Grounded in our Values Based Culture, we are steadfast in our commitment to cultivating a workforce that is equipped to meet the evolving healthcare needs of all those living in our communities.”

Additionally, Justyna explained that committee members were asked to commit to a series of statements regarding values-based culture, such as being Kindhearted by exercising empathy, having the Integrity to examine personal biases and valuing diversity of life experiences as part of One Team.

Fostering change is not just about what happens inside the meeting room. As Justyna pointed out, the real change is how these developments take shape throughout the community.

“This work won’t just be done by the 19 voting members and nine ex-officio members,” said Justyna. “We plan to engage all those that applied and were not appointed this year, as well as others interested in the work who did not apply. There is much work to do, and we need everyone’s involvement to affect real change and progress.”