The UCR School of Medicine, or SOM, has received an Advancing Faculty Diversity award of $550,000 from the University of California Office of the President for a project titled “Advancing Clinical Faculty Diversity through Transformative Hiring for Representation, InclusiVity, and Excellence (THRIVE) at UCR SOM.”

The medical school proposed the THRIVE initiative, a three-year recruitment and retention program aimed at advancing clinical faculty diversity, with the objective of recruiting, hiring, and retaining five new full-time faculty members who are engaged in clinical health equity research and/or education.

“The initiative will focus on addressing health disparities, particularly those affecting underrepresented populations in medicine, and will include race-neutral recruitment strategies, retention practices that foster belonging, and expanded pathway programs to sustain clinical faculty diversity in the future,” said Dr. Denise Martinez, associate dean of diversity, equity, and inclusion, or DEI, in the medical school and a health sciences clinical professor. Martinez and Iryna Ethell, a professor of biomedical sciences and associate dean for academic affairs in SOM, received the award.

Martinez explained that transformative hiring refers to a recruitment strategy that goes beyond traditional methods to create systemic change in hiring practices, focusing on diversity and inclusion. 

“In the context of the THRIVE initiative, it involves the intentional recruitment of faculty members who are already engaged in clinical health equity research and education,” she said. “This process seeks to recruit individuals who have a proven track record in addressing health disparities, with a focus on underrepresented or historically marginalized groups. The goal is to bring in faculty who align with UCR SOM’s mission of improving health outcomes for underserved populations.”

Ethell believes now is an ideal time for transformative hiring at medical school, which was founded in 2013 and continues to build its clinical infrastructure. 

“There is a pressing need to address health disparities in Inland Southern California, where the physician workforce is underrepresented,” she said. “Given the school’s mission to train a diverse physician workforce and its commitment to serving the underserved, transformative hiring will play a critical role in improving both the faculty diversity and the quality of education and healthcare provided in the region.”

The award money will be allocated in several ways:

• Support five new faculty members, ensuring they can engage in activities that advance DEI, such as health equity research, clinical education, and community outreach.
• Support the expansion of residency-to-faculty and medical school-to-residency pathway programs.
• Support the recruitment process.

Martinez stressed that the THRIVE initiative is not only about increasing diversity in the clinical faculty, but also about creating a culture of inclusion and belonging that will help retain diverse faculty over the long term. 

“By integrating mentorship, leadership opportunities, and professional development, the initiative ensures that new faculty feel supported and valued, contributing to the sustained success of UCR SOM in training future health equity leaders,” she said.

Angeline Vanle, assistant director of the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the medical school helped Martinez and Ethell put the proposal together and will assist with the award.