Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine receives recognition for inclusive initiatives

INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine honors the school for the seventh straight year.

Josh Meyer

3 Oct 2024

A student in a white coat looks up from lab work and smiles. — Semhar Habte-Mariam, a participant in the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine's Early Identification Program, gained research experience this summer at Zhi Sheng's lab at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC. Habte-Mariam is a Virginia Tech undergraduate student. Photo by Ryan Anderson for Virginia Tech.

The Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine has been recognized with the 2024 Health Professions Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award from Insight Into Diversity magazine.

As a recipient of the annual award — a national honor recognizing U.S. health colleges and universities that demonstrate an outstanding commitment to inclusion — the medical school will be featured, along with 70 other recipients, in the November/ December 2024 issue of Insight Into Diversity magazine.

This is the seventh straight year the medical school has received the HEED Award.

“We are thrilled to receive the HEED Award once again this year. It is an honor we take great pride in as it demonstrates our success in honing an environment of support for all our students,” said Angelica Witcher Walker, assistant dean for student vitality and director of student affairs. “The comprehensive analysis of our inclusive initiatives gives us the opportunity to re-evaluate our efforts and determine where to expand in the upcoming year. We are thankful to Insight Into Diversity for this significant recognition.”

For the ninth straight year, Virginia Tech was chosen for the 2024 Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award from Insight Into Diversity magazine. A complete list and more information about the awards can be found at Insight Into Diversity’s website.

“The Health Professions HEED Award process consists of a comprehensive and rigorous application that includes questions relating to the recruitment and retention of students and employees — and best practices for both — continued leadership support for diversity, and other aspects of campus diversity and inclusion,” said Lenore Pearlstein, publisher of Insight Into Diversity magazine. “We take a detailed approach to reviewing each application in deciding who will be named a Health Professions HEED Award recipient. Our standards are high, and we look for schools where diversity and inclusion are woven into the work being done every day across their campus.”

Inclusive initiatives at the medical school include

The JumpStart Program is an educational outreach program for rising 11th and 12th graders who have shown a passion and commitment to pursuing science and health care professions.
The Healthcare Enrichment Learning Program is an elementary school pathway program that provides experiential learning sessions to enhance knowledge regarding handwashing, hygiene, and health care careers, and health disparities.
Health Equity Scholars is a program that partners with Virginia Tech’s living-learning community for Black students. The pilot initiative last year exposed students to medicine and health care professions by providing hands-on experience, lectures, and medical student panels.
For several years, the school’s Early Identification Program has provided intensive medical school prep over two summers for rising juniors at associated Virginia universities.
ScholarDocs is a free, weekly after-school program for high-schoolers designed to provide mentorship and exposure to careers in science and medicine.

To learn more, visit medicine.vtc.vt.edu/diversity.html.