To all members of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences,
The Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences (FMHS) has a long and deep commitment to humanism. A commitment to humanism is a commitment to inclusion, in all we do.
The new FMHS Strategic Plan reaffirms this commitment, enshrining humanism – that is, respecting the value and dignity of every individual within our diverse academic community and the communities we serve – as a core value. Equity and inclusion are integral to “Delivering with and for our communities,” one of the four pillars on which the strategic plan is built.
It is in this context that, effective May 1, 2025, we have moved oversight for this priority directly into the VP-Dean’s Office, to be led by the Vice-Dean, Education and Community Engagement as part of a new Community Engagement and Belonging hub.
This hub will create a community of practice to support the ongoing work that is flourishing across our schools, units and groups. It will also help us to build on the achievements we have made together, in areas such as increasing the representation among our academic complement and in developing new pathways that have diversified our student population. These activities will continue to grow at the local level, where they will have the greatest impact, with support from the new hub and Faculty leadership.
Guiding principles will include:
- Building on a culture of openness and mutual respect, and the varied experiences, ideas and backgrounds of our faculty, staff and learners;
- Listening to, learning from and engaging more effectively with the communities we serve, with a focus on those that have been historically marginalized;
- Assuring equity in the recruitment of students, faculty and staff, and in the support we offer each and every member of our community as they learn and contribute to our mission;
- Ensuring that our students understand an individual’s health in the wider context of history, culture and socioeconomic factors;
- Choosing our words carefully to create an environment where all feel welcome and valued.
In the coming months, we will be working with our Faculty members and community partners to finalize the new organizational structure, specifically to:
- Establish community of practice committees;
- Together formalize goals and deliverables;
- Establish a reporting and quality improvement framework to hold ourselves accountable.
I look forward to working together with you to build this new model, with our Faculty’s values of humanism, altruism, collaboration, creativity and rigour as our guideposts. Thank you for your dedication to our common mission – Together for better health.
Lesley Fellows, MDCM, DPhil
Vice-President (Health Affairs)
Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences