Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Excellence in DEI Awards 

Downloadable DEI Awards information (PDF)

Purpose: Three (3) excellence awards will recognize individuals who have
demonstrated exemplary dedication and achievement related to diversity, equity, and
inclusion (DEI) across all campuses at the School of Medicine.
Award winners receive $500 and a plaque.

Eligibility Categories (one award will be made from each category for a total of 3):
• Faculty nominees must be adjuncts (clinical affiliates), tenure-track/tenured, or
academic professional track and have not received the award in the past year.
• Staff nominees must be non-faculty School of Medicine or clinical affiliate
employees and have not received the award in the past year.
• Trainee (Students or Postdocs) nominees must be currently enrolled as medical,
graduate students, or postdoctoral fellows. Students graduating in May or who
graduated the previous December or August are eligible.

Award Criteria will be based on the below:

• The department head/supervisor submits individuals from each eligibility category per department/unit or campus.
• Any faculty, staff, postdocs, or students may submit a nomination in any eligibility category
• Self-nominations are accepted.
• Nominations will be solicited starting in  December of each year.

Nomination packets will include the following:
     1. Letter of nomination (2-page maximum): Submit a typed narrative detailing the candidate’s impactful performance related to accomplishments in DEI.
a. Describe how the nominee went above and beyond their job or role in their performance

2. A list of activities: Submit a numbered list that reflects outstanding examples of the nominee’s DEI activities (2 pages maximum).
   
   
3. Support letters (up to two letters with a 2-page maximum for each from students, Faculty, or staff).
   
   
4. Biographical Data. This information should be provided on the following items in the order listed:
   - Name of Nominee
   - Current position (title, rank, department, or unit)
   - Demographic data (optional)
   - Number of years in this position
   - Degrees held (source and date) / or being attained.
   
   Application process
   Deadline: 5:00 pm, Jan 9^th 2023
   DEI Awards Nomination Form
   Selection process: The Awards Recognition Committee (ARC) will review Faculty and Staff applications. The Faculty, Staff Recruitment, and Climate (FSRC) subcommittee will review the trainee (student and postdoctoral) applications.
   
   Please direct all inquiries regarding these awards to Dr. Ian Murray
   (imurray@tamu.edu), Interim Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.

Introduction

As an extension of Texas A&M University, the School of Medicine has benefited from the LandGrant College Act of 1862 (The Morrill Act). The Morrill Act granted land–obtained via dispossession of Indigenous Peoples–to states in order to establish colleges and universities that would teach students agriculture and mechanical arts. While the establishment of Texas A&M University, and the subsequent opening of the College of Medicine, has undeniably benefited the people of Texas, it is essential to honor and acknowledge the full history that led to our institution’s establishment.;

Statement

“We acknowledge that Texas A&M University (College Station) is situated on the land of multiple Native nations, past and present. These original homelands are the territory of Indigenous peoples who were largely dispossessed and removed. We specifically acknowledge the traditional stewardship of this land by the Tonkawa, Tawakoni, Hueco, Sana, Wichita, and Coahuiltecan peoples. We pledge to support and advocate for the histories, cultures, languages, and territorial rights of historic Indigenous peoples of Texas and the Indigenous people that live here now. This statement affirms continuous Indigenous presence and rights, acknowledges the ongoing effects of settler colonization, and supports Indigenous struggles for political, legal, and cultural sovereignty.”

Additional Resources

• Land Grant Information
• TAMU Library Resources
• Texas A&M Department of Sociology
• The Tonkawa Tribe
• Wichita and Affiliated Tribes
• Tap Pilam Coahuiltecan Nation

In the News

Announcement of Recipients & Virtual Ceremony Invitation

Megan A. Badejo, president of the Medical Class of 2022, was appointed Community Service Chair of Committees on the National Board of Directors of the Student National Medical Association (SNMA). She was formally sworn into the office on Monday, May 4, 2020.

Alejandro Sanchez, member of the Medical Class of 2021, has won a one-month fellowship award offered by the Washington DC-based American Psychiatric Association & American Psychiatric Association Foundation (APA/APAF). This externship award was announced in late April by the selection committee for the Minority Medical Student Externship in Addiction Psychiatry Program.

Sarah Joseph, member of the Medical Class of 2021, was named co-chair of the Minority Issues Committee in the Medical Student Section, a standing committee of the American Medical Association.

Opinion: A Black doctor and scientist on vaccinating minorities

Dr. Roderic Pettigrew, Texas A&M EnMed executive dean and a professor of biomedical engineering, has joined the prestigious honorary society that recognizes individuals advancing the public good.

Dr. Farida Sohrabji, Regents Professor, Shelton Professor of Neuroscience and Interim Department Head of Neuroscience and Experimental Therapeutics at TAMU along with the NIH address Incorporating a Sex-and-Gender Lens from Bench to Bedside: Neurology.

Recent Social Media Posts

School of Medicine Diversity Equity & Inclusion contacts per campus

Bryan:

Dr. Danielle Dickey
dmdickey@tamu.edu

Dr. Karienn Montgomery
karienn@tamu.edu

Kristen Patrick
kpatrick03@tamu.edu

Alex Powell 
alexxisabeast@tamu.edu

Dr. Van Wilson 
v-wilson@tamu.edu

Dallas:

Jennifer Moreira
jennifer.moreira@bswhealth.org

Mia Raymond
mia.raymond@bswhealth.org

Houston:

Dr. Amy Wright
aswright@houstonmethodist.org

Round Rock:

Dr. Rob Milman  
milman@tamu.edu

Stephanie Staggs  
staggs@tamu.edu

Temple:

Loria Lynce
lynce@tamu.edu

About the Program

In 2014, the School of Medicine Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion received the THECB Minority Health Research and Education Grant for Recruitment and Retention. This grant has funded the Aggie Doctor Initiative (ADI), which works to combat the scholastic and social struggles that students face when undertaking new academic challenges. These struggles come with getting acclimated to a new institution, the rigor of the curriculum, perceived lack of institutional support, unclear expectations of the student, and lack of community among peers. These problems can manifest themselves as anxiety and depression, and lead to academic failure.

For racially underrepresented students (African American and Hispanic/Latino) these effects are often magnified as issues related to being traditionally underrepresented (discrimination, lack of confidence), creating additional barriers to success. To address these issues, the ADI works to create a strong community among students, provide nurturing mentorship, and strengthen the academic abilities of underrepresented students.

This program seeks to reach students at three critical stages in the development of successful pre-med and medical students:

• The first semester, freshmen year of college
• Navigating the application/interview process for medical school
• Succeeding in the first year of medical school

Enhancing the academic and social success of students in these stages builds capacity for increasing the number of underrepresented medical doctors in Texas, ultimately responding to critical demand in the state.

PROGRAM TRACKS

The Aggie Doctor Initiative is broken into two interdependent tracks:

Pre-Med Fellows

he Texas A&M School of Medicine created the Pre-Med Fellows program in 2015 as part of a grant with the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. Students who are accepted into this program and successfully meet the requirements will be given conditional admission to the Texas A&M School of Medicine and will be expected to commit to the Texas A&M School of Medicine for medical school.
More information can be found on the admissions page.  

MedCamp

MedCamp is a three-week pre-matriculation program that targets an incoming, first-year, underrepresented medical students. MedCamp has a strong mentorship and community-building component whereby medical school faculty and staff, and second, third, and fourth-year medical students are trained as mentors for the MedCamp participants. These participants engage in academic lectures, exams, clinical skills training, and learn strategies for academic success to prepare them for the rigor of the curriculum and the expectations of medical students. Additionally, there are also numerous social activities. Students are provided with room and board for the duration of MedCamp. 

Student Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Newsletter

*All Newsletters are in PDF version

TAMU Office For Diversity Newsletter

• June 2022- June Newsletter - Advancing Exceptional Scholarship and Engaging Campus Community through Research
• May 2022
• April 2022
• March 2022
• February 2022
• January 2022

Events

Resources

• Texas A&M University College of Medicine Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Statement (PDF)
• Anti-Racism LibGuide
• Humanity Binds Us
• Texas A&M University Office of Diversity
• DEI Funds Request
• 2019 DPAR Report (PDF)
• Joint Police Chiefs Response to ART Town Hall Questions (PDF)
• Gut Flora - Vol 4
• Glossary
• TAMU Diversity Resources
• Self Care Syllabus (PDF)
• 2021 Diversity Holidays
• Increasing Diversity in the Hiring Process (PDF)
• 2020 University Diversity Plan Accountability Report (PDF)
• 2021 Diversity Plan Accountability Report
• DEI Committee

Zoom Backgrounds

Hispanic Heritage

Hispanic Heritage LMSA

Women in Medicine

Black History Month

Women History Month