GSA Committee on Diversity Affairs (CODA)

Welcome to the Group on Student Affairs (GSA) Committee on Diversity Affairs (GSA-CODA)

Over the past three years, the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) has gone through many organizational and structural changes brought on by the arrival of new leadership in Darrell Kirch, MD, president and CEO of the AAMC. Through a very reflective and inclusive process, diversity was identified as one of the AAMC's strategic priorities.

In June 2009, the AAMC Board of Directors approved the creation of the Group on Diversity and Inclusion (GDI). Building on the thirty-two years of programming and initiatives of the GSA-Minority Affairs Section (MAS), GDI will focus on a broader perspective of diversity across the entire academic medicine continuum to include resident, faculty, physician workforce, and academic health center administrative leadership. The GSA strongly felt the important work begun through GSA-MAS with respect to underserved applicants and students should continue within GSA. Therefore, a fifth national committee was formed, CODA. GSA-CODA will provide guidance on medical student diversity, on a local, regional, and national basis, with respect to student recruitment, admissions, and retention.

I was deeply honored to be selected as the Inaugural Chair of CODA and look forward to working with the Committee and our diversity affairs constituents as we advance the benefits and compelling need for diversity in medical education. We must all realize that diversity includes, but is not limited to, increasing the number of underrepresented students in medicine. It must also include the creation of a culture and climate whereby multiple dimensions of diverse students are embraced by the medical education community. For it is only through a diverse and dynamic academic medicine community, that is truly reflective of our society, will all students have the opportunity to learn how to care for our diverse national and global communities.

In its inaugural meeting in July 2009, CODA identified some very ambitious initiatives and priorities. The success of these projects is heavily dependent on the involvement of our constituents - whether institutional or individual diversity affairs officers (DAOs).

On behalf of myself and the members of CODA: Gloria Hawkins, PhD (Central), Carlyle Miller, MD (Northeast), Brenda Latham-Sadler, MD (Southern), Linda Don, MEd (Western), Dwight Davis, MD (Immediate Past, Past GSA National Chair), Ron Garcia, PhD (Liaison to Committee on Admissions), Martha Trujillo (Liaison to Committee on Student Financial Aid), Virginia Hardy, PhD (Liaison to Committee on Student Affairs), Sonia Beasley (Liaison to Committee on Student Records), Phillip Murray (OSR), Michael Ellison, EdD (NAAHP), and Joycelyn Dorscher, MD (AAIP), we invite you to join us as we champion the call for diversity in medical education. We are here to serve you and welcome your feedback.

Karen A. Lewis, MS
Assistant Vice President