Our Mission
Jane and Terry Semel Institute for
Neuroscience & Human Behavior
Mission Statement
The principles of Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) define the vision and values of the faculty within the academic unit comprised of UCLA Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, the Jane and Terry Semel Institute for Neurosciences and Human Behavior and the Resnick Neuropsychiatric Hospital, has chosen to build its pursuit of excellence in scholarship, education, clinical service delivery, and communal advocacy in mental health. An explicit anti-racist, social justice and structural competency framework highlights our mandate to perform impactful clinical research and practice that enhances the lives of all people within our diverse local and global communities. We vow to work with cultural humility and be accountable for greater equity amongst historically underrepresented peoples and increased generalizability of scientific findings and their pragmatic translation from laboratory to community at all levels of analysis.
Our faculty and leadership are committed to integrating JEDI principles into all institutional policies and practices through the following steps:
- Fostering a welcoming climate that truly celebrates diversity and values the unique personal and professional experiences of people historically underrepresented in science and medicine.
- Work proactively as a community to decrease stress due to racism and discrimination.
- Addressing inequities in pay, promotion, resources, and leadership opportunities within our academic unit.
- Devoting greater academic resources including FTEs, endowed chairs, and programmatic start-up packages to increase the presence and influence of faculty historically underrepresented groups within our faculty and leadership.
- Ensuring that these principles are promulgated throughout our education and training, clinical, research, communication, and community engagement activities.
David Geffen School of Medicine
Statement on Diversity & Inclusion
We, the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, aim for excellence in all tenets of healthcare, including education, research, community engagement, and clinical care. We believe that the core values of diversity and inclusion are inseparable from our institutional goals. DGSOM leadership is committed to fostering an environment that celebrates the unique backgrounds, contributions, and opinions of each individual. Through fair and deliberate recruitment, hiring practices, promotions, admissions, and education, DGSOM will draw its talent from across the community and provide the highest quality of service to everyone we encounter. We believe in a system that supports outstanding faculty, fellows, residents, staff, and students with different perspectives and experiences. By a process of continual reevaluation, reflection, and shared responsibility, we are unwavering in our dedication to equity, communication, and respect.
Adopted September 2012 by the UCLA Medical Student Council
Adopted September 2012 by the UCLA School of Medicine Faculty Executive Committee
Regents of the University of California
Principles of Community, Faculty Diversity Policies,
and Systemwide Diversity Policy
The diversity of the people of California has been the source of innovative ideas and creative accomplishments throughout the state’s history into the present. Diversity — a defining feature of California’s past, present, and future — refers to the variety of personal experiences, values, and worldviews that arise from differences of culture and circumstance. Such differences include race, ethnicity, gender, age, religion, language, abilities/disabilities, sexual orientation, gender identity, socioeconomic status, and geographic region, and more.
Because the core mission of the University of California is to serve the interests of the State of California, it must seek to achieve diversity among its student bodies and among its employees. The State of California has a compelling interest in making sure that people from all backgrounds perceive that access to the University is possible for talented students, staff, and faculty from all groups. The knowledge that the University of California is open to qualified students from all groups, and thus serves all parts of the community equitably, helps sustain the social fabric of the State.
Diversity should also be integral to the University’s achievement of excellence. Diversity can enhance the ability of the University to accomplish its academic mission. Diversity aims to broaden and deepen both the educational experience and the scholarly environment, as students and faculty learn to interact effectively with each other, preparing them to participate in an increasingly complex and pluralistic society. Ideas, and practices based on those ideas, can be made richer by the process of being born and nurtured in a diverse community. The pluralistic university can model a process of proposing and testing ideas through respectful, civil communication. Educational excellence that truly incorporates diversity thus can promote mutual respect and make possible the full, effective use of the talents and abilities of all to foster innovation and train future leadership.
Therefore, the University of California renews its commitment to the full realization of its historic promise to recognize and nurture merit, talent, and achievement by supporting diversity and equal opportunity in its education, services, and administration, as well as research and creative activity. The University particularly acknowledges the acute need to remove barriers to the recruitment, retention, and advancement of talented students, faculty, and staff from historically excluded populations who are currently underrepresented.