Associate Dean's Welcome
Welcome to the UTRGV SOM Office of Diversity, Inclusion and Health Equity (ODIHE).
It is my sincere privilege to serve as Associate Dean for Diversity, Inclusion, and Health Equity and also as Associate Dean for Continuing Medical Education for our growing medical school.
Experiencing an organizational culture of diversity and inclusivity is a cornerstone of our medical school as it is critical to the academic, personal, and spiritual growth of our faculty, senior administrative staff, medical students, and residents. Each of these groups is represented on the UTRGV SOM Diversity Committee which meets on a quarterly basis to ensure that the school’s Diversity Strategic Plan and Diversity Policies are responsive to a changing world and the growing needs of our medical school community.
UTRGV SOM faculty, senior administrative staff, medical students, and residents are the representatives of our institution to the world; most importantly to our RGV community at large and to our patients. It is in part through our school’s diversity and inclusion efforts, in academia, in policy, and in practice that we help to educate and inspire our future physicians to provide exceptional health care to their patients and to exemplify the beauty an importance of respect, compassion, humility, and humanity.
ODIHE will continue to provide training opportunities for all of the UTRGV SOM community in topics of diversity and inclusion. We will also continue to work together and respect one another and what makes us each unique: race, ethnicity, gender identity, and religious preference to name just a few.
Two of the most fundamental actions that the Office of Diversity, Inclusion, and Health Equity promises to take is to listen and to seek understanding of the academic, emotional, and spiritual needs of our student, resident, faculty, and staff populations who are underrepresented in medicine.
Sincerely,
Adela S. Valdez, MD, MBA
Associate Dean, Diversity, Inclusion and Health Equity
Associate Dean, Continuing Medical Education
UTRGV School of Medicine
Adela.Valdez@utrgv.edu
