Working Toward Inclusive Excellence: My Role as UB SON’s Assistant Dean for Diversity and Inclusion

The timing seems to have happened organically and largely coincides with the movement of the university in looking at an equity and inclusion portfolio under Vice Provost and Professor Teresa Miller.

Professor Teresa Miller appointed me to the newly formed UB Equity and Inclusion Council, where members assist her in thinking about and developing that part of the mission and strategic plan at the university level as it fits within the State University of New York system. It has been helpful for me to sit on this council to get a 30,000-foot view of issues, past and present, related to diversity, inclusion and equity at UB. This perspective has served as a guide, in part, as to how to proceed in the school.

Recognizing that I cannot move the needle in isolation, one of my first tasks was to form a Diversity and Inclusion Taskforce in the school. Starting with volunteer faculty and staff, we have also added two students to our taskforce made up of interested persons with a diversity of views and experiences.

As a U.S. indigenous person and enrolled member of the Three Affiliated Tribes of North Dakota, I am well aware that persons at the faculty, staff and student levels who fall either in perceived or actual ‘other’ categories will have additional  issues to address in addition to the usual matters associated with their employment or programs of study.

The school is putting forth a diversity statement, which recognizes three important concepts. First, diversity exists. It is a structure within society. Biodiversity itself is technically not something you are able to “increase.” Second, what you are able to do is provide processes and relevant structures whereby diversity is included, i.e. inclusion as intentional work of the school, whether faculty, staff or student focused. Inclusive excellence is the guidance at the university level. Thirdly, where inclusion is the work, equity is the outcome. 

As we move forward, the taskforce is working to generate more visibility for our initiatives. I have initiated diversity and inclusion office hours to encourage an open dialog and a safe place for students, faculty and staff to voice concerns. I am working toward expanding to include the other health sciences schools in the university to explore shared issues with diversity and inclusion, especially as they relate and include various clinical settings where we educate our students and work as health care professionals. We will also begin offering faculty and staff development programs, commencing with a short presentation on issues that faculty and staff may not be aware of in their usual workloads.

It has been my pleasure to take on this important role at the school.

-Margaret P. Moss, PhD, JD, RN, FAAN