GSA Committee on Student Diversity Affairs (COSDA)

The GSA National Committee on Student Diversity Affairs, formerly the Committee on Diversity Affairs (CODA), provides guidance on medical student diversity on a local, regional, and national basis, with respect to student recruitment, admissions, enrollment, retention, and graduation.

• Committee Charge
• Message from the Chair
• Member Resources
• AAMC Resources
• Related Organizations
• COSDA Committee Roster

Committee Charge

The strategic priorities of COSDA are defined under two overarching themes – increasing diversity in the physician workforce and professional development of its constituency. In order to meet the strategic priorities, COSDA advances the full cycle of student engagement and educational support spanning the K-12 through medical school educational continuum in order to increase diversity in the physician workforce. COSDA constituents provide programming and services to engage and support diverse learners in the K-12 pipeline, pre-medical and post- baccalaureate programs, and medical school. They are involved in outreach, recruitment, admissions, retention, support and graduation of diverse students in medicine. The committee is advisory to the GSA Steering Committee, it makes regular reports to the GSA Steering Committee and seeks approval of the GSA Steering Committee for special projects.

Message from the Chair

On behalf of the committee, it is my pleasure to take this opportunity to welcome all to the Group on Student Affairs - Committee on Student Diversity Affairs (GSA-COSDA). I look forward to working with all of our Student Diversity Affairs representatives, and others, as we come together on a local, regional and national level, to advance a holistic approach to diversity, equity, and inclusion so that all of our medical students successfully thrive across the undergraduate medical education continuum.

COSDA is one of the five national committees of the GSA. COSDA regularly comes together to discuss issues, contribute to, and provide guidance on medical student diversity on a local, regional, and national basis, with respect to student recruitment, admissions, enrollment, retention, and graduation.

COSDA serves as the representative body of the larger constituency of Student Diversity Affairs representatives at the AAMC member medical schools. In that regard, COSDA represents the institutional, individual and affiliate representatives, and/or other faculty and staff, who have responsibility for medical student diversity efforts.

We wish to take this opportunity to thank the several members who have recently completed their terms on the COSDA National Committee with a special thanks to Dr. Gerald Yutrzenka, PhD who has provided important leadership, perspective and insight during the past three years as National Chair of GSA-COSDA.

We also acknowledge the outstanding leadership and continued support provided to the committee by Dr. Geoffrey Young PhD, AAMC Senior Director for Student Affairs and Programs and his entire team.

GSA-COSDA continues to move forward in expanding our collaborative efforts with the various GSA Committees, the Group on Diversity and Inclusion (GDI) and other AAMC constituent groups to ensure that the diversity affairs expertise and voice is strongly represented in advancing and advocating for diversity in medical education.

In closing, we welcome your interest in the efforts of COSDA and the Student Diversity Affairs community in working towards advancing a holistic medical education experience for our increasingly diverse medical student body. Please feel free to contact COSDA if you have ideas, proposals or comments that might be of interest to the GSA-COSDA leadership and membership.

Best,
Ann-Gel S. Palermo, DrPH, MPH [she/her/hers]
Senior Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Associate Professor, Medical Education & Pediatrics
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer in Education and Research
Office for Diversity and Inclusion
Mount Sinai Health System

Member Resources

(Sign In Required for Some Resources)

• Financial Aid Resource for Student Diversity Officers (PPT)

• Best Practices for Recruitment and Retention of a Diverse Student Body Webinar

• Medical Minority Application Registry (Med-MAR)

• Aspiring Docs

• Minority Student Medical Career Fairs

• Postbaccalaureate Premedical Programs

• Summer Programs Web Database

• Summer Enrichment Programs

AAMC Resources

• Careers in Medicine

• Diversity and Inclusion

• The Strategic Imperative: Leading Change to Improve Health

• Summer Health Professions Education Program (SHPEP)

• Underrepresented in Medicine Definition

• Washington Highlights

Related Organizations

• The Association of American Indian Physicians (AAIP)

• National Health Service Corps (NHSC)

• The National Hispanic Medical Association (NHMA)

• National Institutes of Health Undergraduate Scholarship Program (NIH-UGSP)

• The National Medical Association (NMA)

• The National Medical Fellowships (NMF)

• The Society for Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS)

• The Student National Medical Association (SNMA)

COSDA Committee Roster

Chair
Donna H. Jackson, EdD (November 2022 - November 2025)
Assistant Dean for Admissions
Director, Student Outreach Programs
Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine