Jasmine Marcelin, MD, has been selected as the inaugural vice chair of equity and inclusive excellence for the UNMC Department of Internal Medicine.
Debra Romberger, MD, professor and chair of internal medicine, said she was excited and grateful for Dr. Marcelin’s enthusiasm and willingness to take on the new role.
“Dr. Marcelin has been a leader in the justice, equity, diversity and inclusion space at UNMC since she started here,” Dr. Romberger said. “She created a task force for our residency program and will now expand her attention more broadly across our department.”
The new role comes with the formation of a new office of equity and inclusive excellence within the department.
Dr. Marcelin, associate professor in the division of infectious diseases, is an associate program director for the department’s residency program and created its Developing an Inclusive and Varied Environment for Residents, Students and Educators (DIVERSE) task force in 2020.
“Many of the DIVERSE task force’s initiatives have directly or indirectly had a positive impact on the whole department,” Dr. Marcelin said. “However, internal medicine has 12 divisions and many faculty, staff and trainees, all of whom will benefit from centering equity and inclusive excellence as the department’s North Star.”
She still will work on the DIVERSE task force and on advancing the residency program’s mission, but Dr. Marcelin, in her new role, will enhance and expand opportunities within the department with a focus on four main pillars: people, culture, leadership and education, and patient care and community engagement.
“I am looking forward to collaborating with amazing people within the department and across the UNMC campus to get the work done,” she said. “I am especially excited about the prospect of creating new opportunities for our faculty, staff, trainees and community members to be uplifted and recognized.”
Dr. Marcelin recognized the support of Dr. Romberger and other department leaders in creating this new role.
“In the current climate where this work is being challenged or in some states even being dismantled, it is important for our department and UNMC to reaffirm our values and implement concrete action,” she said. “It demonstrates that our patients, community, learners, faculty and staff will all benefit when we lead through a lens of equity.”