In response to a newsletter about racism on campus, New York City-based NYU College of Dentistry developed a task force that aims to address such issues, according to student newspaper Washington Square News.
According to the newsletter, only 3 percent of about 1,500 NYU dental students identify as Black. In the newsletter, community members urged the NYU College of Dentistry to implement anti-racist actions. It also featured anonymous personal experiences shared by dentistry students where other students or faculty members discriminated against them.
In response, NYU College of Dentistry's Dean Charles Bertolami, DDS, created the Task Force on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. Associate Dean John McIntosh and Assistant Dean Eugenia Mejia, PhD, will lead the task force.
"We will conduct a climate assessment of diversity issues to get accurate feedback on what the environment is truly like for people of color," Mr. McIntosh said. "This assessment will include a review of NYU Dentistry results from the university-wide culture survey, abbreviated anonymous surveys, individual interviews and focus groups designed to get a full picture of [NYU Dentistry's] strengths and weaknesses."