The University of Louisville School of Medicine’s has been established by several department chairs to address systemic racism. This is in response to asking for ideas and support in making UofL the nation’s premier anti-racist metropolitan research university.

“I am proud and deeply grateful for the leadership of these faculty who are using their philanthropic and other financial resources to create a fund that will promote diversity at the School of Medicine both now and for the future,” said Toni Ganzel, dean of the .

The endowment has been established by: 

• Sean Francis, chair of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Women’s Health
• Ronald Gregg, chair of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics
• William Guido, chair of Anatomical Sciences & Neurobiology
• Irving Joshua, chair of Physiology
• Maureen McCall, professor of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences
• Craig S. Roberts, chair of Orthopaedic Surgery

“This might have more impact at UofL than anything else I have done,” Gregg said.

The endowment is expected to be used for scholarships, resident stipends, faculty recruitment and retention packages and other unforeseen opportunities. A dean-appointed selection committee composed of diverse members of the School of Medicine faculty, staff and students will help guide spending decisions.

To learn more about UofL’s anti-racism agenda and diversity efforts, please visit the following websites:

Consider making a gift using the secure online giving page, follow .

Faculty and staff have the option to make contributions by payroll deduction to “UofL Endw Excellence Diversity” for instructions for setting up payroll deduction through ULink. 

For questions or to establish a multi-year pledge, please contact University Advancement at 502.852.2794.

In addition to Bendapudi, other signatories include Susan Donovan, Bellarmine University; Travis Haire, Ivy Tech, Sellersburg; Ty Handy, Jefferson Community and Technical College; Jay Marr, Sullivan University, Louisville; Tori Murden McClure, Spalding University; Alton B. Pollard, III, Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary; and Ray Wallace, IU Southeast. 

In a joint statement, the presidents announced five ways they plan to address racism in Louisville. The letter, including those proposed actions, is below: 

“James Baldwin said, ‘Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.’ The harsh truth that must be faced is that Black Americans still face obstacles that leave them, in far too many cases, lagging behind their White counterparts on important indicators of education, income, health, and wealth. Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and George Floyd are just the latest names on our collective dishonor roll of Black lives that were taken casually and, all too often, without consequence. The very real racial inequities of today are the result of a legacy of systemic racism.  

“We, as leaders of higher education institutions in greater Louisville and Kentuckiana, are aware both of the promise of higher education as a transformative force in society, and of the problematic history of these very institutions in perpetuating racial inequity.

“As leaders of these institutions, we, too, are complicit in maintaining the status quo and it is therefore incumbent upon us to take real and meaningful action to achieve the ideals of equity that our institutions espouse. 

“We believe that by working together we can do more and do better as agents of positive change.

1. We pledge to educate ourselves and our own college and university communities to recognize and work against structural racism.
2. We pledge to work together to improve access to higher education for our African-American and other students of color.
3. We pledge to create pathways for African-American and other students of color to meaningful and high-demand jobs and careers and acknowledge the need for more Black professionals in healthcare and education and engineering and law as in many other spheres. 
4. We pledge to engage fully and meaningfully in the life of West Louisville.
5. With our institutional privileges of knowledge, reach, resources, legacy, and more, we pledge to consistently demonstrate our commitment to the objective fact that Black Lives Matter.”

Photo provided by Brendan J. Sullivan, Bellarmine University.