Mission & Initiatives
SADI Leadership Committee
The mission of SADI is to identify, create, and support initiatives to advance the values of equity, diversity, and inclusion for University of Minnesota Medical School staff, both on the Twin Cities and Duluth campuses. SADI's focus is in supporting Medical School employees whose primary position is classified as an academic, professional and/or administrative role other than faculty or learner. This includes full-time, part-time, temporary, and student-employee positions. The SADI Leadership Committee and Subcommittees are dedicated to providing valuable learning and engagement opportunities, resources, support options, and helping the Medical School move towards a more diverse workforce to better serve our school and community.
Current Initiatives:
The Leadership Committee is currently working to advocate for the protected time of staff for DEI development opportunities, offer open forum style SADI meetings, and to provide SADI information to all new incoming staff, among other initiatives.
In 2020, SADI expanded the committee model to include various subcommittees, each dedicated to advancing specific initiatives. The mission and initiatives of each subcommittee are provided below.
SADI Subcommittees
Communications Subcommittee
Mission: Design and maintain the SADI website, social media, and other avenues of communication. The goal is to increase resource visibility, promote community, and provide updates to Medical School staff regarding the committee’s activities, internal and external learning and engagement opportunities, OED certification, DEI resources, and available support.
Current Initiatives: We are currently developing our website, finding new ways to connect and reach staff in all areas of the Medical School (both TC & Duluth campuses), and starting to branch into social media platforms. This is all being done in collaboration with the Office of DEI and the Medical School’s Communications team to maintain consistency, eliminate redundancies, and to ensure a thoughtful flow between all DEI initiatives in the Medical School.
Events & Education Subcommittee
Mission: Identify, plan, and implement learning opportunities for the Medical School staff regarding a variety of DEI topics. The subcommittee works with both internal UMN and external experts to develop workshops, dialogue circles, and other DEI events including but not limited to Connect & Learn Discussions, Hot Topic Forums, and more. The subcommittee leads and facilitates discussions and events.
Current Initiatives: We are currently expanding and offering regular Connect & Learn discussions, Hot Topic forums, and workshops by identifying content (readings, videos, podcasts), brainstorming hot topics, and thoughtfully recruiting speakers and experts from within the University of Minnesota (both TC & Duluth campuses) while avoiding cultural taxation.
Recruitment, Development, & Retention Subcommittee
Mission: Provide resources to Medical School departments, programs, units and offices to help them hire, develop and retain more staff of color. The subcommittee is also working to collect and share data on the number of staff of color employed in Medical School departments and on their job classifications.
Current Initiatives: We are currently collaborating with North Hennepin Community College to develop a professional pipeline between their Associate Degree programs and the Medical School’s job postings. Additionally, we are working closely with Central HR to develop immediate and long-term changes to the Medical School’s hiring processes. We are developing the structure for Affinity Groups specifically within the Medical School for staff to build stronger and more inclusive relationships within the Medical School.
Step Up Subcommittee
Mission: Increase Medical School participation in Step Up, a program that connects Minneapolis youth with internships in organizations across the city. We partner with Step Up, OED, and University Health Sciences staff to improve the experiences of Med School Supervisors and Interns in the Step Up program.
Current Initiatives: We have set up virtual events and are working on expanding intern engagement. We are looking forward to next year and finding ways to recruit more broadly across departments for partners.
Connect with SADI
If you're interested in getting involved with SADI, have questions, suggestions, or would like to collaborate, please reach out via email.
Complete the form below if you wish to be added to the SADI email communication list. You will receive direct communication and information regarding upcoming Connect & Learn Discussions, events, professional development opportunities, workshops and more! You may unsubscribe at any time by emailing sadi@umn.edu.