Mission

The Office of Culture, Access, and Stakeholder Engagement (CASE) leads and provides guidance for institutional initiatives around supporting and connecting with students, faculty, staff, leadership, and external stakeholders.  Intentionally, our office is committed to three key areas:

• Culture – focusing on how faculty, staff, students, and leadership experience our campus and clinical environment and spaces, such that every individual feels valued, supported, and respected;
• Access – through examining our institution’s policies, procedures, and practices ensuring that all faculty, staff, and students are able to acquire the necessary resources, opportunities, and support in reaching their fullest potential;
• Stakeholder Engagement – centering institutional efforts on increasing genuine curiosity, passion, and commitment to our medical school for both internal and external stakeholders from various backgrounds and perspectives.

Vision

Our office fosters an environment where every member of our USC SOMG community and stakeholders feel safe, supported, valued, and engaged.

Guiding Principles:

The University of South Carolina School of Medicine Greenville’s (USC SOMG) goals through 2030 and strategic initiatives may be found here:  Strategic Plan.  Specifically aligning with strategic initiative four - sustaining excellence - making excellence inclusive is a driving principle of our office.

The Office of Culture, Access, and Stakeholder Engagement is instrumental in supporting and executing our institution’s strategic goals, including advocating lifelong learning, driving innovation, enhancing recognition, and promoting excellence.  Consistent with the Inclusive Excellence Change Model developed by the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AACU), the USC SOMG strives to not only demonstrate educational excellence in academic and clinical environments but to also pay close attention in integrating excellence into the fabric, experiences, and landscape of our institution.  

In our efforts, we strategically commit to operationalizing inclusive excellence through four guiding principles (Williams, Berger, & McClendon, 2005, p. vi):

1. Academics – “a focus on student intellectual and social development;”
2. Operations – “a purposeful development and utilization of organizational resources to enhance student learning;”
3. Environment – “attention to the cultural differences learners bring to the educational experience and that enhance the enterprise;”
4. Community – “a welcoming community that engages all of its [uniqueness] in the service of student and organizational learning.”

 

Key Stakeholders

The Office of Culture, Access, & Stakeholder Engagement prides itself in collaborating with the below key stakeholders to further the institution’s commitment of inclusivity and belonging.  We truly embrace the importance of community in pursuing this important work and in preparing our future physicians in meeting the unique needs of our patient populations.

Scope

Directly associated with the mission and guiding principles of the Office of CASE, our priorities help us remain engaged with our key stakeholders, while demonstrating our dedication to the vision and strategic goals of our medical school.

Expand allTable 1. Summary of Office’s Scope 

Our Priorities and Connection to Our Mission1	Guiding Principle(s)	Associated Unit(s)2
Culture (C) Addressing of relevant broad and specific faculty, staff, and student issues/complaints around culture and access, including hosting listening sessions where appropriate (+ A, SE)	Operations, Environment, Community	HR, OSA OSA, HR
Fostering sense of belonging through providing support for student affinity groups and employee resource groups (ERGs) (+ A, SE) Providing resources and collaborating with Associate Deans, clinical department chairs, and leadership on the development, implementation, and evaluation of annual inclusive excellence action (IEA) plans (+ SE) Actively guiding and supporting appropriate research, assessment, and evaluation projects (i.e. climate surveys, focus group sessions, etc.)	Environment, Community Academics, Operations, Environment, Community Operations, Environment, Community	OSA, GME, BMS, Med Ed, Clinical Faculty Development, SASS, clinical departments OSA, HR, Office of Assessment
Access (A) Developing relevant teaching, training, and resources (i.e. implicit bias, inclusive language, accessible recruitment and retention practices, etc.) for BMS faculty, SOMG medical students, and resident learners (+ C, SE) Incorporating accessible hiring, recruitment, and retention techniques (+ C, SE)	Academics, Operations, Environment, Community Operations, Environment, Community	Med Ed, HR, OSA, Clinical Faculty Development HR, OSA, Admissions, GME
Stakeholder Engagement (SE) Engagement with external organizations, donors, fundraisers, etc. as appropriate to demonstrate SOMG’s commitment to inclusive excellence Development and/or support for culturally relevant programming and workshops (+ C) Management of relevant committees/councils with the focus of furthering inclusive excellence (i.e Task Force, CASE Advisory Council, etc.)	Community, Operations Environment, Community  Operations, Environment, Community	Office of Development, Office of Finance & Operations, Office of Accountable Communities (Prisma) OSA, HR, student organizations, ERGs Various SOMG units, student organizations, ERGs, clinical departments, community members

¹Some office responsibilities may encompass more than one component of our mission.

²While CASE will lead and/or provide strategic guidance for these aspects, it may be necessary to incorporate the expertise of other units requiring collaboration with relevant offices/stakeholders.

Inclusive Excellence Action Planning

The USC SOMG prides itself in taking a praxis approach to inclusivity and belonging.  In furthering our institution’s dedication to making excellence inclusive, our office serves as a strategic partner in working with leaders to infuse this important work throughout their operational units and creating a safe space for all.  Each academic year, our executive leaders and clinical department chairs are tasked with assessing the climate and needs of their divisions and working with staff in the Office of Culture, Access, & Stakeholder Engagement to develop, operationalize, and evaluate departmental inclusive excellence action plans (IEAPs).  This strategic approach has helped our institution not only emphasize the significance of inclusivity and quality but also has emphasized the vitality of an action-based approach in furthering the important work in which our campus community is consistently engaged.

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