Associate Dean for Diverse and Inclusive Education

Friday, January 15, 2021

Dear Students and Colleagues,

We are pleased to announce that Ruth Shim, MD, MPH has been nominated as the new School of Medicine Associate Dean for Diverse and Inclusive Education with an anticipated start date of February 1, 2021.

As the UC Davis School of Medicine’s Luke & Grace Kim Professor in Cultural Psychiatry, director of cultural psychiatry and professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Dr. Shim brings to her new role a wealth of expertise and leadership in addressing core issues of importance including social justice in medicine, racism and mental health equity and social determinants of mental health. She is also a dedicated and active mentor to UC Davis School of Medicine students, and shares our deep commitment to advancing a culture of diversity, equity and inclusion in all aspects of education, science and health care.

As the Associate Dean for Diverse and Inclusive Education, Dr. Shim will serve as an important member of the School of Medicine and the Office for Health Equity, Diversity and Inclusion leadership teams. She will design, implement, and sustain equitable pre-medical and medical education through oversight of the Office of Student and Resident Diversity pathways programs. Dr. Shim will also oversee the expansion of the pathways programs and work to ensure that the curriculum and education programs are accessible and relevant to diverse students, residents and fellows.  

Dr. Shim will collaborate closely with the Associate Dean for Diverse and Inclusive Learning Communities on a wide range of efforts, including ensuring that there are optimal learning environments for our diverse learner community, as well as working with other Associate Deans to track, monitor and address cultural mistreatment such as microaggressions, blatant racist acts, and racist sentiments, which will be included in an annual report documenting cultural mistreatment that negatively impacts learning environments.

She will also provide leadership to a wide range of administrative, academic and technical professionals in the Office of Student and Resident Diversity who provide comprehensive student support services.

Please join us in congratulating Dr. Shim on her new role.

Allison Brashear, M.D., MBA
Dean, School of Medicine
University of California, Davis

Hendry Ton, M.D., MS
Associate Vice Chancellor
Office for Health Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
UC Davis Health