DIVERSITY & INCLUSION

CELL MET’s mission is to design and build up a climate that celebrates and fosters an appreciation for cultural diversity and inclusion which allows stakeholders at every level to thrive. Inclusiveness is essential to the center’s success, and in order to achieve this goal, the center will commit resources to create and sustain an environment that fosters a culture of inclusion, which means understanding that each individual is unique, and recognizing our individual differences. These can be along the dimensions of race, ethnicity, gender, socio-economic status, age, physical abilities, religious and/or political beliefs, among other dimensions of identity.

CELL-MET’s goal is to reach all center constituents as frequently as possible with the message that diversity and inclusion lead to innovation. Therefore, the CELL MET vision is to develop multicultural leaders at all levels, where all center participants will engage in building this skill and acumen for cultural inclusion. The broad goals of the strategic plan for diversity and culture of inclusion are to:

1. Create and maintain a climate that values cultural diversity, fosters a sense of identity, inclusivity, and belongingness, generates opportunities for all constituents, removes barriers, and empowers constituents to achieve their full potential
2. Increase cultural competencies of faculty, staff, and students within the center
3. Reduce health disparities within underrepresented and underserved communities by including patients from these communities in the research, clinical trials, and treatments
4. Create opportunities for individuals to form diverse communities to contribute to the center at all levels
5. Expand the pipeline of students from underserved and underrepresented groups through programming efforts for pre-college, undergraduate, and graduate-level students