Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Access
The University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences is committed to fostering an inclusive environment for all members of our university community—and to developing healthcare practitioners who are prepared to serve patients and families across backgrounds and cultures. We’re proud of our diverse student body, faculty and staff, which span all races and ethnicities, genders, sexual orientations, ages, sizes and abilities.
- Of students enrolled during the 2023-2024 academic year, 54% self-identified as nonwhite, and 72% were women. USAHS Fall 2023 student enrollment
- Among our faculty and staff as of 2024 Spring Term, 40% self-identified as nonwhite, and 73% were women. USAHS data in Dayforce, accessed February 2024
The charge of our Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Access (IDEA) Committee is to facilitate policies, guidelines, initiatives and programs that support the University’s commitment to maintaining a community where all feel a sense of belonging. IDEA encourages respect for diversity of backgrounds, identities, ideas and perspectives, and it deals honestly and constructively with issues of equity and inclusion.
The IDEA Committee has held town hall-style listening sessions with students and staff. It has also curated an event series called “Cultural Competence in Healthcare Expert Exchange,” in which faculty members speak about how future and current healthcare practitioners can serve underrepresented populations and increase their cultural responsiveness. To date, more than 475 members of the USAHS community have participated in IDEA Committee initiatives, and 4,500 students have completed diversity training in the last year.
The IDEA Committee’s core initiatives are grounded in the USAHS values of professionalism, integrity, collaboration, and creative and critical thinking. These initiatives are aligned with our B Corp Institution certification, which shows that we’re part of a global movement of people using business as a force for good—and that we meet standards of social and environmental performance, accountability and transparency.
For more information and to learn about opportunities to get involved, please contact the IDEA Committee at [email protected].