Our mission, which aligns with the School of Medicine’s mission, is to enhance the educational environment through recruitment of a culturally diverse academic workforce while preparing a diverse student body to become leaders in a vibrant, global society.

In 1972 the Office of Minority Affairs (OMA) was created to recruit and provide support for minority medical students. By 1996, the country’s growing cultural diversity and increasing concern with health inequities prompted the OMA to expand its mission under a new name, the Office of Diversity Programs. This office replaced its predecessor and added the goal of teaching students the skills needed to attend to an ethnically and racially diverse patient population. In 2018, a new schoolwide diversity and inclusion leadership position was created. At that time, the Office of Diversity Programs joined the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.

Our office provides students the opportunities to volunteer in free clinics in underserved neighborhoods, engage in service to the community, and develop an understanding of culturally competent health care.

We also take an active role in improving the public health infrastructure in the St. Louis region while educating our students about public health and health inequities.

As you take a closer look you will appreciate the warmth, collaborative spirit, and enthusiasm of our talented students, residents and faculty who make Washington University School of Medicine a supportive and inviting place to study.

Will Ross, MPH, MD
Associate Dean for Diversity
Principal Officer for Community Partnerships
Alumni Endowed Professor of Medicine, Division of Nephrology