New series of discussions about diversity and inclusion on Medical Campus

In an effort to extend opportunities to members of the medical school community who wish to share thoughts and viewpoints on becoming a more diverse and inclusive community, Washington University School of Medicine will host a series of facilitated discussions beginning Monday, Oct. 20.

These gatherings, a new series of sessions called “Perspectives,” will be held on the Medical Campus. The goal is to provide safe, communal spaces for students, faculty, staff, postdocs and other campus members to talk about experiences here and in the broader community; to offer suggestions for developing training and communication; and to engage each other on topics that require participants to “lean in” and have honest exchanges.

“Perspectives is being offered to provide an opportunity to engage our medical school community in discussion around current events and topics that can impact the campus and our mission,” explained Denise DeCou, a diversity and inclusion leader at the medical school. “We want to be proactive in generating ideas on how our medical campus and greater community can become more cohesive and inclusive.

“The recent unrest affecting our broader community affects each of us differently,” DeCou continued. “Our goal is not to come to any conclusions or agreements, but to hear differing perspectives and opinions in a safe space as we learn to be more comfortable with difficult conversations and practice sharing our opinions.”

Perspectives will include informed voices from outside the campus community from time to time.

All of the Perspectives meetings will be in Room 301 of the Farrell Learning and Teaching Center unless otherwise noted below.

Here is a list of upcoming sessions:

  • Noon Monday, Oct. 20
  • 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 22
  • 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 29
  • noon Tuesday, Nov. 11
  • 9 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 13
  • 9 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 18
  • noon, Monday, Dec. 1
  • 10 a.m. Friday, Dec. 5
  • 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 9 (Room 303)
  • 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 10
  • 3 p.m. Friday, Dec. 12
  • Noon Tuesday, Dec. 16
  • 1:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 18
  • 1 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 6
  • 9 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 14
  • 3 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 20
  • Noon Monday, Feb. 9
  • 3 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 18