Welcome
Welcome to the Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion at SIU. Our office is committed to developing strategies and overseeing initiatives that celebrate people of our campus and the communities we serve. We work to ensure that our students, residents, faculty, and staff reflect the demographics of central and southern Illinois while also equipping them with the knowledge and skills to address health disparities through culturally responsive care, patient access, education, and health literacy initiatives.
Our overarching responsibility is to help students successfully complete their medical education while providing support to residents, faculty, and staff who make up our workforce. We strive to foster an organizational culture that respects individual differences and empowers learners to advance equity by improving patient communication, accessibility, and education. We believe that when healthcare professionals are trained to engage effectively with patients from all backgrounds, they can better address barriers to care and promote health literacy in the communities they serve.