Equity Diversity and Inclusion Strategic Plan delivers roadmap for new initiatives

Dean Lisa Dolovich accepts recommendations from the first EDI Working Group

In June 2021, Dean Lisa Dolovich established the Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Working Group at the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy. The Working Group was tasked with developing a strategy from which to build EDI initiatives at the Faculty and to draft terms of reference for a standing committee that will be integrated into governing Faculty Council. 

Co-led by Dr. Jillian Kohler, Professor and Director of the WHO Collaborating Centre for Governance, Transparency and Accountability in the Pharmaceutical Sector and Dr. Lachmi Singh, Director, Education Programs and Administrative Services, the EDI Working Group submitted the Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Strategic Plan 2021 to the Dean’s Office in December 2021. The plan laid out recommendations on how to support a healthy and inclusive learning and work environment for everyone at the Faculty.

Specifically, the recommendations provide evidence-based guidance on how we can:

• Develop more EDI training opportunities for all members of our community to address issues of unconscious bias, mistreatment, and implementation of EDI into practice.
• Create an environment where the principles of EDI have been realized in the recruitment, retention, and career development at LDFP
• Ensure the composition of LDFP committees and decision-making bodies are inclusive and diverse, and its members are well educated in EDI principles
• Ensure that our programs and curricula prepare our graduates to meet the EDI needs of the communities they will serve in their careers in Canada and globally.
• Develop and implement a data strategy to collect, maintain, interpret, report, and communicate data on EDI to improve effectiveness, accountability and transparency.
• Develop a mechanism or framework for feedback and complaints processes within the Faculty
• Incorporate EDI considerations into space planning and decision making

“I have received and accepted the recommendations of the EDI Working Group and thank the Working Group members for their thoughtfulness and dedication to building this roadmap for our Faculty,” said Dean Lisa Dolovich, Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy. “It was crucial that we have input and engagement from across our community so that we can start to set priorities and move ahead in this important area.”

The development of the EDI Strategic Plan coincided with final stages of the academic planning process, in which key priorities are identified and laid out as part of a five-year plan to guide efforts across the Faculty. This provided a significant opportunity to align priorities and resources for future implementation of new initiatives. “The recommendations from the Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Strategic Plan have been incorporated into our new, five-year Academic Plan which will be released later this month,” said Dean Dolovich. “I look forward to continuing to make progress in our EDI work and to the future collaborations and initiatives we will build to achieve an even more dynamic and inclusive environment at the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy.”

Read the Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Strategic Plan 2021