Mission
The mission of the I.D.E.A Center is to promote a culture that prioritizes inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility and encourages engagement and shared responsibility in developing a practice of well- being, belonging, accountability, and anti-racism at Marshall B. Ketchum University.
Definitions
Inclusion (I): A state of belonging, when persons of different backgrounds and identities are valued, integrated, and welcomed equitably as decision-makers and collaborators. Inclusion involves people being given the opportunity to grow and feel/know that they belong. Diversity efforts alone do not create inclusive environments. Inclusion involves a sense of coming as you are and being accepted, rather than feeling the need to assimilate.
Diversity (D): Diversity is the range of human differences, including but not limited to race, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, social class, disability, personal characteristics, religious or ethical values system, national origin, and political beliefs.
Equity (E): Equity refers to fair and just practices that ensure access, resources, and opportunities are provided for all to succeed and grow. Equity in education refers to achieving parity in student educational outcomes, regardless of background.
Accessibility (A): The extent to which a space, literal or physical, is readily attainable and usable by people with different identities such as: disability, neurodiversity, language, and cultural needs.
Culture of Well-being (CW): A culture of compassion, health promotion, equity, and social justice aimed at improving the health of the people who live, learn, and work, on our campuses.
Anti-Racism (AR): Anti-racism is the active process of identifying, challenging, and confronting racism. This active process requires confronting systems, organizational structures, policies, practices, behaviors, and attitudes.
Background
As a health professional University whose purpose is to serve the health of the public, MBKU has embarked on a path to enhance our impact on the world through the prioritization of diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility in everything we do. From training the next generation of health care professionals, to creating working and learning environments that are inclusive, community strengthening and responsive to the changing needs of our learners, we recognize that we provide the guidance and a model for our graduates to emulate in their own professional practices. This is critical because health inequities exist across zip codes, racial and ethnic lines, geography, income status and education. Institutions that train the health care workforce are reckoning with their roles in solving the challenges we face as a population. As a University, while we train highly qualified students who go on to bright careers serving their patients, we must acknowledge that the focus is not just limited to the patient in front of us, but that people also exist in a larger society marked by health disparities. Institutions have the opportunity to build the awareness, knowledge and skills necessary to address the structural causes of health disparities.
In our evolution from the oldest school of optometry in California to an innovative interprofessional University including a school of physician assistant studies and a college of pharmacy, that seeks to reimagine health care education, we have a history of forging new paths, where they didn’t exist before. We have worked hard to make sure our professions are well represented by our graduates, and we recognize that with the changing needs of our students and patients, the environment in which we educate, learn and work matters. It matters not only to the MBKU community, but it contributes to our legacy through each of our graduates who will have the skills to nurture and heal with cultural humility and respect. To achieve this outcome, we recognize the importance of prioritizing our diversity, building equity into everything we do and fostering a learning and working environment that is inclusive and respectful so that we may skillfully contribute to addressing the health care needs of diverse communities.
Structure and Timeline
This strategic plan is time bound and intended to propel us forward in our work. The 6 themes with respective goals and methods are broad and intended to touch every department and role within the University in some way and fit within our University pillars. The hope is that students, staff, faculty, administrators, departments, and colleges make their contributions to the strategic plan from their unique arenas in relatively short term and tangible ways. The goal is to measure our outcomes and revisit this plan at the end of the timeframe to develop the next phase of goals in an iterative and continual way that recognizes that this growth process is ongoing and necessary to address the changing educational and health care needs of our times.
