A.T. Still University (ATSU) is deeply committed to an educational and collaborative environment embracing cultural proficiency. Students striving to become the best healthcare professionals possible must understand and embrace society’s diversity. This is also true for ATSU’s faculty and staff.
Andrew Taylor Still, DO, founder of osteopathic medicine and ATSU, was a licensed physician and surgeon, healthcare innovator, abolitionist, civil war hospital steward, and suffragist who created opportunities for women in medicine as early as the 1890s.
Today, ATSU supports students who learn and serve in diverse, underserved, urban, and rural communities across America. ATSU’s alumni also practice, work, and volunteer across the world. Many hold leadership positions dedicated to bringing quality healthcare to those in greatest need.
Thank you for taking a few moments to explore ATSU’s commitment to cultural proficiency. We invite you to join us on our journey by exploring our website and following us on social media.
A.T. Still University of Health Sciences is deeply committed to an educational and collaborative environment embracing cultural proficiency. Students striving to become the best healthcare professionals possible must understand and embrace society’s diversity. This is also true for ATSU’s faculty and staff.
Andrew Taylor Still, DO, founder of osteopathic medicine and ATSU, was a licensed physician and surgeon, healthcare innovator, abolitionist, civil war hospital steward, and suffragist who created opportunities for women in medicine as early as the 1890s.
Today, ATSU supports students who learn and serve in diverse, underserved, urban, and rural communities across America. ATSU’s alumni also practice, work, and volunteer across the world. Many hold leadership positions dedicated to bringing quality healthcare to those in greatest need.
Thank you for taking a few moments to explore ATSU’s commitment to cultural proficiency. We invite you to join us on our journey by exploring our website and following us on social media.
A.T. Still University strives to create a culturally rich community which embraces all forms of differences, including but not limited to race, ethnicity, gender, disability, sexual orientation, origin of birth, age, religious beliefs, political beliefs, socio-economic status, physical characteristics, military service, title, academic background, and professional experiences. Inherent in ATSU’s mission is the belief excellence is inclusive—academic and intellectual, physical and physiological; cultural and social, spiritual and moral.
We believe these attributes are expressed in our acceptance of difference, and our collective appreciation provided by these differences guides us in the development of a campus community reflective of the global community of which we are all a part.
An authentic understanding and appreciation of difference is foundational to reaching cultural proficiency, which, at its core, is based upon the value each human being brings to our society and each person’s access and opportunities to contribute to our University’s cultural proficiency. The strength of our campus community as well as the potential of the global community is realized through this same understanding, affirmation, and value of human difference.
Review and download the Diversity and Inclusion brochure (pdf)
Please feel free to review what we have accomplished over the past year! This annual report is an annotation of the objectives and accomplishments we have had within the University.
Diversity-AR-2024-DIGITAL-FINAL-02Please feel free to review the Diversity Strategic plan. This plan is an annotation of objectives that we have with the university.
Learn more about our Dreamline Pathways
Cultural proficiency in healthcare is a way of being and serving that enables one to effectively respond in a variety of cultural settings to the issues caused by diversity. In a word, diversity means “differences” and one cannot truly value differences if one is unwilling to appreciate the myriad of difference in our society and also work to be inclusive at every opportunity. A culturally proficient organization interacts effectively with its employees, its clients, and its community. Culturally proficient people may not know all there is to know about others who are different from them, but they know how to take advantage of teachable moments, how to ask questions without offending, and how to create an environment that is welcoming to diversity and to changes.
SafeZone for All program is to create beacons, SafeZone for All allies, whose roles are to be visible ambassadors, so that we ensure the campus climate feels safe, receptive, and accepting to community members regardless of any human condition, characteristic, or circumstance that they may have. Read more about SafeZone for All
The Still Scholars Early Acceptance Program is designed to provide admission opportunities to outstanding students who aspire to become osteopathic physicians at A.T. Still University’s Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine (ATSU-KCOM). ATSU-KCOM prides itself on developing physicians who focus on whole person healthcare and community service, and looks for students who also hold these values.
ATSU-KCOM’s Still Scholars Early Acceptance program rewards highly capable students who are dedicated to the osteopathic philosophy with admittance into our institution’s founding osteopathic medical program without traditional MCAT requirements. This program encourages students to focus on developing strong academic and leadership skills, yet allows them to focus on their undergraduate experience without the additional pressures of preparing for the MCAT.
Click here for more information
Turn your passion into your calling as a Hometown Scholars endorsed applicant. Hometown Scholars helps ATSU meet the needs of community health centers by identifying, attracting, and educating dedicated, motivated, and qualified community-minded healers.
The mission of the Advisory Council On Diversity (ACOD) is to work to cultivate a culturally proficient community, which embraces all forms of difference and perpetuates the University’s mission to enrich learning experiences of students, faculty, and staff in support of serving the underserved.
The ATSU Diversity Enrichment Committee (Missouri campus) mission is to enrich the culture of acceptance and respect of diversity in all its forms. The committee, created of students, faculty and staff, will work together to promote policies and programs that recognize and celebrate diversity across the community.
ATSU’s Diversity Enrichment in Education Committee (DEEC) is dedicated to creating a more inclusive academic community by encouraging opportunities for students, faculty, and staff to embrace and celebrate diversity and all of its dimensions. The DEEC will enhance the mission of both the A.T. Still University and the Advisory Council on Diversity by promoting campus-wide initiatives that allow individuals to gain a positive understanding of cultural proficiency and the way it impacts holistic wellness.
The ATSU-SOMA Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) Committee’s vision is to collaborate with students, faculty, and staff to promote cultural proficiency, humility, sensitivity, and behavioral change within ATSU-SOMA.
The JEDI Committee’s mission is to provide a safe space for discussion and deliberation and to champion interventions and solutions related to the JEDI vision. Contact somadiversity@atsu.edu for more information.
A.T. Still University’s DECC committee is dedicated to creating a more inclusive academic community by encouraging opportunities for students, faculty, and staff to embrace and celebrate diversity and all of its dimensions. The committee will enhance the mission of both the A.T. Still University and the Advisory Council on Diversity by promoting campus-wide initiatives that allow individuals to gain a positive understanding of cultural proficiency and the way it impacts holistic wellness.
The Dreamline Pathways are comprehensive community-based collaborations that introduce K12 students to graduate health professions programs offered by ATSU. ATSU and its partners fully understand the need for health professions to reflect the population being served. ATSU has unique relationships with school districts and community based organizations, offering experiential learning opportunities to students in these partnerships. These collaborations introduce young minds to career opportunities in healthcare. Students are nurtured through campus and graduate student engagement opportunities.
The Inspiring Programs in STEM Award from Insight into Diversity honors colleges and universities that encourage and assist students from underrepresented groups to enter the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).
The A.T. Still University and Truman State University Healthcare academy is a unique partnership in conjunction with Dreamline Pathways between ATSU and Truman State University.
This program includes hands-on activities at both ATSU and Truman State University in Kirksville, Missouri for students interested in healthcare as a future profession.
Accepted healthcare academy students will participate in a variety of scheduled activities each day and enjoy a rich experience outside the classroom, including an opportunity to reside on Truman State University’s campus under the supervision of resident staff and preceptors. This event is free for participating students, and transportation is provided to and from St. Louis by the event sponsors.
To learn more about the program and application, visit healthcareacademy.truman.edu
Explore shadowing opportunities at the ATSU St. Louis Affinia Dental Clinic to gain hands-on insights into dental care in a diverse and inclusive environment. Complete the form below to express your interest and take the next step in your educational journey.
Form Link: https://forms.gle/CcH7NXQpAhJPMP1J6
ATSU received the Health Professions Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award from INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine, the oldest and largest diversity-focused publication in higher education for seven consecutive years in a row. Only 24 health professions schools received the HEED award.
