MGH Institute of Health Professions
PA-7: Support for Underrepresented Groups

The MGH Institute of Health Professions (MGH IHP) does not discriminate on the basis of color, race, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, veteran status, marital status, status as a parent, or national origin. The Institute respects and values the diverse backgrounds of all people and welcomes them to fully participate in campus life. This policy incorporates, by reference, the requirements of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, Title IX of the 1972 Educational Amendments, and all relevant federal, state, and local laws, statutes, and regulations. https://www.mghihp.edu/title-ix#:~:text=The%20Institute%20prohibits%20discrimination%20in,of%20its%20programs%20and%20activities

Mass General Brigham (MGB) has taken on the initiative of having a system-wide harassment policy and bias reporting mechanism. They have chosen a vendor and are in the process of establishing a reconciliation process. MGH Institute of Health Professions (MGH IHP) is part of the larger Mass General Brigham System and encourages employees to utilize its offerings. The IHP's Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) Office will work with MGB representatives to relay any concerns that IHP members have regarding reporting and reconciliation. MGB in turn helps provide support and resources for individuals. The IHP also has its own bias-reporting mechanism. If a student has experienced an incident, they can report incidents by filling out the Student Incident Report: https://mghihp.formstack.com/forms/student_incident_report. Staff in the Office of Student and Alumni Affairs (OSAS) will follow up on all reports received. All reports are treated with utmost confidentiality; in certain cases, it may be necessary for OSAS to share incident details with academic program leaders and/or MGH Security who are able to provide additional support and resources. OSAS staff will discuss the follow-up process with the individual(s) submitting the report. With each submission, students are provided with a list of MGH IHP resources available to all students. Students and employees can also report incidents anonymously through the President's Institute Input Form: https://mghihp.formstack.com/forms/instituteinput.

STUDENTS The Office of Enrollment Services has formed a collaborative initiative with the Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) office to specifically review the following initiatives, 1) the application/acceptance/scholarship process from the point of view of the potential student and an eye toward making sure the IHP is taking an equity-positive approach to the enrollment process, and 2) The creation of a strategic enrollment plan that will lead to an increase in the number and percentage of BIPOC and first generation graduate students who enroll at the IHP. Working groups have been formed as of February 2022, which consists of both faculty and staff in the School of Health and Rehabilitation Science, School of Nursing, School of Healthcare Leadership, Library Services, Office of the Provost, and Office of Enrollment Services. The Office of Admission has a required question on the application for all direct-entry programs, and added the optional essay for all post-professional applicants: (Exact verbiage may differ by program as approved by each program's Admissions Committee) MGH Institute of Health Professions is committed to an inclusive campus climate that welcomes students who will enrich the diversity of thought and perspective, and therefore, enhance the learning experiences of all. We currently are in the beginning stages of developing a strategic plan for enrollment management that would cover access, affordability, and retention of BIPOC and other marginalized and minoritized students. We are hoping that our plan will be complete by Spring 2023 and will have more information about how we recruit and retain students for next year.

FACULTY (ACADEMIC STAFF) We recently hired a talent acquisition partner as our previous one had left the institution. Our TA partner is engaged in developing a database of prospective applicants, recruiting prospective faculty of color to pursue positions here by identifying individuals that could be great faculty, but who might not be in the “pipeline,” such as those who are clinicians. She attends networking events and conferences for faculty of color so she can meet them. In addition, we have graduated 2 classes of Equity Advocates already who have served on all faculty and executive searches and asked questions about how implicit bias plays a role in the searches. These equity advocates have done a great job in centering equity in the search process. We have also published about the EA program in the journal of Diversity in Higher Education. We are in the process of our first targeted hire, a faculty member of color. Previously, we have not had any targeted hires, but one of the Deans was able to find funds to hire two qualified individuals for a position opening. We have faculty diversity targets for recruitment, including offers and yield. We have an endowed fund to support recruitment and retention of faculty of color. Our talent acquisition partner is developing a database to increase the number of applicants of color for faculty positions. We will work with individual prospective faculty and postdocs about possible support. We currently do not have funds to support cluster hiring, but are looking into federal grants that could possibly support this in partnership with other MGB entities. We can work with applicants to help connect them with recruiters for spousal partner hires at other institutions in the Boston area. We request justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion accomplishments, approach, and metrics during the interview process. NON-ACADEMIC STAFF The IHP currently uses the following diversity job boards to help recruit diverse job candidates: HERC, Latinos in Higher Ed, Diversejobs, Amaru, NERBNA. We also require search firms we use to include diverse candidates in the final pool of all candidates. We ensure that necessary accommodations are made for any applicant with a disability.

STUDENTS: MGH IHP has a variety of organizations focused on supporting students from underrepresented groups on campus such as the Student Government Association (SGA); with KinsIHP, the LGBTQ+ student organization; MEDS, Minorities Engaged in Dialogue and Service; and SRJH, Students for Racial Justice in Health Care. Several of those student clubs have been formed or expanded their activities over the past year. 

STAFF AND FACULTY: The Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Office (JEDI) hosts a variety of support groups for faculty and staff such as

• BIPOC Meet & Greet: The BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) meet and greet is a space that intends to create relationships between BIPOC -identifying IHP students, staff, faculty and alumni, through dialogue, social events, programming and more.


• Black Faculty & Staff Resource Group


• AAPI+ Employee Resource Group: The AAPI Alliance aims be a space for Asian American staff & faculty to find cultural community & social support at the IHP; receive culturally relevant professional development & support for advancement; and engage in programming meaningful to AAPIs at the IHP and our broader cultural communities. 


• Faculty of Color Group

The Association of Multicultural Members of Partners < http://ammp.massgeneral.org/> is an active resource group open to employees of the MGH Institute from all ethnic and racial backgrounds. The Office of Women's Careers within the Center for Faculty Development < http://facultydevelopment.massgeneral.org/owc/index.html> promotes gender equity for female clinicians, researchers, and teachers. MGH Institute employees also participate in the LGBT employee resource group < http://www.massgeneral.org/lgbt/>, Committee for Latino Initiatives, Social Justice Interest Group, and MGH Military Veteran Partners. Those interested in joining any of these groups can contact the JEDI office to be added to the email listserv and/or meeting invites.We are happy to support the forming of other ERGs on our campus, but members of our school have not expressed a need and may be connected to the MGH and MGB entities. 

The IHP does not have an official pipleine program, but the JEDI Fellows Program has been a way for us to engage in leadership development of our students. We are working to mentor these students and socialize them into the profession as well as academia so they may consider faculty careers in the future. We hope to continue working with our students and alumni to socialize them to consider faculty careers in the future.