Diversity & Inclusion Council

Mission Statement

Strengthening departmental function and effectiveness by empowering a community where diversity, equity, and inclusion are promoted; enabling everyone to feel valued, engaged, and supported.

Overarching Goals:

  • To renew the structure of and further diversify the departmental Diversity Council and its leadership by mid academic year.
  • To enhance our departmental diversity with continuing efforts to recruit and retain a diverse faculty, and by being intentional about diversity and inclusion during the trainee recruitment process in order to increase successful recruitment of underrepresented individuals by 10% in three years.
  • To strengthen the sense of community across the department by organizing a community activity twice a year to which each departmental section, trainee, and staff group will have representative participants, such that everyone feels valued, engaged, and supported.
  • To increase our cultural competency by initiating at least three cultural sharing sessions over the next year, so that all members demonstrate the knowledge and skills to work with diverse people, to educate diverse students, residents and fellows, and to treat diverse patients.

Current Events:

 

 

 

Diversity and Inclusion are thrilled to roll out a fresh project for the Radiology Department - shining the spotlight on our fantastic faculty and staff, sharing their perspectives on what Diversity and Inclusion truly means. Our mission? To not only spark conversations within our department but to spread the word far and wide across The University. Keen to get involved? Contact Adrian Gutierrez for further information.

 

P117 Auditorium Refresh

A refreshed P117 auditorium is upon us! The BSD Office of Diversity & Inclusion and the BSD Women’s Committee, of which Dr. Carina Yang is the departmental representative, hosted an open house on October 10, 2024 to unveil new artwork in the P117 auditorium. The visual displays in the entryway and along each wall are an example of how we are working to incorporate our culture and values into the places where we come together, celebrating our community and our shared experiences. The Department of Radiology is featured quite prominently in several of the collages. Come by and have a look if you are on campus!

group photo at bus tour

Mahogany Bus Tour

On Friday March 29, Drs. Grace Lee, Director of Women, URM, and Inclusivity, and Carina Yang, Vice Chair of Diversity & Inclusion were fortunate enough to spend part of the afternoon exploring Bronzville, where many of our patients' homes are. They joined the many other BSD faculty and staff on a University of Chicago BSD Office of Diversity & Inclusion-sponsored Mahogany Bus Tour (hyperlink: https://www.chicagomahogany.com/) 
 
This tour was directed by nationally acclaimed historian Dilla, who become a Chicago social media sensation by going viral on TikTok via his 60 second history videos on "everything Chicago." A notable early stop included Parkway Garden Homes (commonly known as O-block) - a privately owned apartment complex located in Greater Grand Crossing area, at the border of Woodlawn and Washington Park. This was the first apartment complex to be co-owned by Chicago's black residents, who experienced a housing shortage during the Second Great Migration due to segregation.  Early residents included former First Lady Michelle Obama. The tour also stopped at the former homes of many influential black figures, such as Gwendolyn Brooks, Louis Armstrong, and Ida B. Wells. 
 
With some humor thrown in, much history of the immediate surrounding neighborhood was reviewed. We hope to soon bring this tour opportunity to our very own department members, so they may also learn about the rich history of Bronzeville - stay tuned!

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More about DOSAR

woman holds a veggie at the food bank

Hyde Park Kenwood Food Pantry

Our department via the D&I Council has initiated a monthly volunteering group at the nearby Hyde Park Kenwood Food Pantry, to serve our surrounding community. Recently, as many as 150 families visit the pantry on Saturday mornings at the Hyde Park Union Church (5600 S. Woodlawn Avenue), during which they shop for fresh produce as well as non-perishables accompanied by volunteer ambassadors.  Children as young as 10 years of age are able to participate. For more information, please contact Dr. Grace Lee at GLee@bsd.uchicago.edu.

Recruitment:

  • Holistic application review
  • Focused discussion on Diversity & Inclusion with applicants with Departmental D&I Council leadership during each radiology residency interview day
  • Pairing URiM candidates with relevant URiM faculty for interviews
  • Methodic review of current Radiology recruitment and enrollment trends based on current research
  • Participated in Student National Medical Association (SNMA) and Latino Medical Student Association (LMSA) Virtual Residency Fair –  September 12, 2020
  • Chicagoland Radiology Expo – November 6, 2021
  • Sponsored departmental representative who attended the Annual Medical Education Conference (AMEC) hosted by the Student National Medical Association (SNMA) in Hartford, CT from Wednesday, April 5 through Sunday, April 9, 2022
  • New RadExpo, in collaboration with New York radiology programs - November 5, 2022 - radexpo.org
  • Attended the SNMA AMEC 2024 conference in New Orleans in April 2024 - https://radiology.uchicago.edu/news/luis-de-jesus-attends-snma-amec-2024

Training:

 

Support:

  • Dedicated residency administrative liaison to Diversity Council
  • Resident liaisons to the Diversity Council

The Department of Radiology Graduate Program in Medical Physics Book Club is held quarterly and is open to students and faculty. The book club is supervised by Dr. Kenneth Bader,  head of the GPMP Diversity Committee, and coordinated by graduate students Inna Gertsenshteyn and Brittany Broder. Book club dates are based on group availability and books are ordered for students/faculty who confirm attendance.

Please contact Inna Gertsenshteyn (innag@uchicago.edu) or Brittany Broder (bbroder@uchicago.edu) if interested in participating.

Department Member Spotlight

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Diversity and Inclusion Events

Ahmed Hamimi

Dr. Ahmed Hamimi featured on WVON radio show

Dr. Ahmed Hamimi – represented our department on the WVON “The Community Health Focus Hour” on Saturday 7/6, 1 pm, moderated by UCM Dr. Doriane Miller, on imaging metabolic steatotic liver disease, with regards to hepatocellular carcinoma, also in discussion with a UCM hepatologist. 

Dr. Hamimi’s experience: “Being a guest on the radio as a doctor was an exhilarating experience that I will never forget. The thrill of sharing my expertise with a wide audience, that we don’t usually meet in everyday practice while engaging in real-time conversations, was electrifying.  Trying to harness years of knowledge and in the same time simplifying it to meet the understanding of everyday people is difficult, yet pleasant and somewhat rewarding. It was my first time to be a guest in radio show and hopefully not the last.”

South side Festival

South Side Science Festival 2024

Basic science and clinical faculty, graduate students, and radiology trainees teamed up to staff our Department of Radiology booth at the 3rd annual South Side Science Festival on the third floor of the Gordon Center for Integrative Science. This popular interactive event was attended by more than 4500 community members of all ages, with more than 1500 scientists and volunteers, supporting more than 100 live demonstrations, including live anonymized cross-sectional imaging review, anatomic models, a cloud chamber to detect and track ionizing radiation, and an ultrasound used with a phantom. Huge thanks to Medical Physics PhD Candidate Gia Jadick and Abdominal Imager Dr. Grace Lee for helping to organize! 

For more information on the South Side Festival, please visit the following links: here and here

A group of women in radiology sit at a table smiling at the camera

Women in Radiology

On Saturday March 30, the Women in Radiology faculty and trainees came together at the Wild Blossom Meadery & Winery in the Beverly neighborhood to partake in a wine tasting and tour about the production process, while enjoying each other's company and some sunny weather.  Thank you to Dr. Grace Lee for organizing! Looking forward to the next event!

Resources