DIMP 2.0

Part III. Summary of Findings, Goals, and Key Metrics

SUNY College of Optometry has made significant strides to make the principles of diversity, equity, inclusion a reality on campus, in part due to careful planning and methodical execution. The Diversity and Inclusion Master Plan (DIMP) Committee was charged with reviewing the progress on the goals of the first Diversity and Inclusion Master Plan (DIMP 1.0), analyzing the state of diversity initiatives at the College, and making key recommendations to improve upon those goals. The report from the Task Force on Race and Equity (TFRE) was also instrumental in tracking the progress on these goals. For brevity, you will find this project referred to as the DIMP 2.0 and the first master plan will be called DIMP 1.0. A committee of 16 individuals made up of students, faculty and staff worked on this project from May to November of 2021. The committee was split into four subcommittees: Student, faculty and staff diversity equity and inclusion (DEI); patient care; community engagement; and professional and graduate programs. A timeline of the process can be found in Figure 5. The group met every two weeks to put the report together with additional meetings to interview college community members, write and digest climate survey data. Each subcommittee produced a detailed report that was used to create the SWOT analysis and the summary of findings. The subcommittee reports and the climate survey report are available as appendices in this document.

Figure 5. DIMP 2.0 Process

The committee found that progress had been made toward all goals of DIMP 1.0. The enrollment of underrepresented minoritized (URM) students in the professional program has increased significantly. The enrollment of URM students in the graduate program has remained stagnant, as has the number of URM faculty on campus. This progress has been augmented by increased institutional capacity to manage initiatives from the hiring of a Director of Diversity as well as the hiring of other individuals in the Student Affairs Office. Increased institutional funds have been directed towards these initiatives in the funding of the Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB), while industry and philanthropic partners have added additional financial resources. The current didactic and clinical curriculum was noted to have some gaps, as well as overlapping areas when teaching about health equity, social determinants of health and cultural humility. Gaps also exist in preparing our faculty to teach these concepts with confidence.

SUNY Optometry | Diversity and Inclusion Master Plan 2.0 | 19