ODI Celebrates 20 Years of Service

On October 12, 2023, the Office of Diversity and Inclusion (ODI) formally celebrated 20 years of service to Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine at a lovely reception during Alumni weekend. By devoting adequate resources, Feinberg was amongst the first medical schools to further the mission of making medicine more inclusive and responsive to the health inequities in this country. I believe we accomplished many of our goals during this time and it is thanks to you—former and current students, faculty and administrative leaders. You all have contributed to the mission with your time, expertise, advocacy and creativity. Alongside a name change, we grew from focused support on current medical students to serving the academic center at large, in addition to the many other internal and external communities we serve.

Despite the inevitable pushback diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives currently face in this country, Feinberg’s efforts were not a mistake. Although there is more responsive and nuanced work to be done, we are not a mistake. The vision of a more effective and inclusive healthcare system remains.  Whatever you want to call the mission, people’s lives are dependent on us. Our accomplishments are the institution’s accomplishments, and It is the march towards greater excellence. We feel proud that we played a part in Feinberg’s success over the past two decades, and we are proud of our institution’s enduring commitment to supporting and uplifting the power of our diverse community of healers, and proud of our office’s commitment to equity by providing the needed research and healthcare to the communities we serve.

John Franklin, MD, MSc, MA

Associate Dean of Diversity, Inclusion and Student Support