Diversity, Equity and Belonging

Penn State College of Medicine addresses diversity and inclusion from a measurable, strategic perspective.

Penn State College of Medicine is a change agent and leader in Hershey and the surrounding communities, committed to educating students to provide quality medical care - including to those in underserved and historically excluded communities - and to conduct exceptional research. We are committed to increasing representation of historically excluded and underrepresented in medicine faculty, staff and students to reflect our nation’s demographics and to advance our commitment to educating our increasingly diverse students and ultimately to eliminate health disparities for our community's diverse patient populations.

Our goal is to be “best in class” in increasing the diversity of our students and workforce, advancing our commitment to a respectful and inclusive workforce, providing culturally excellent care for our patients and education to our students, and making discoveries that create a greater well-being for all populations, regardless of background.

Our commitment to diversity and inclusion is grounded in the RITE core values that are relevant to the College of Medicine:

• Respect - A work, educational and patient-care environment based on respect provides the foundation for a meaningful exchange of information and ideas that leads to better patient and educational outcomes.
• Integrity - doing what is right even when no one is watching - results in establishing trust and confidence, with our patients, students, and each other, that we are committed to doing what is best.
• Teamwork, and the ability to work effectively with others who are different, results in the exchange of ideas that can result in the newest innovations, and keeping us at the leading edge of medicine, research and education.
• Excellence in education, research, and patient care is our expectation in all that we do.

Learn more about our mission and values