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Office of Institutional & Community Engagement

  1. VHS
  2. About Us
  3. Administrative Offices
  4. Institutional & Community Engagement

Broadening access to healthcare careers, fostering opportunities in the workforce, and partnering with the community are key to driving meaningful progress toward improved health.

Institutional & Community Engagement

  1. VHS
  2. About Us
  3. Administrative Offices
  4. Institutional & Community Engagement

Institutional & Community Engagement

At Macon & Joan Brock Virginia Health Sciences at Old Dominion University, we believe that a wide range of backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives enriches our teaching, research, and patient care environment. Creating a welcoming and supportive atmosphere where individuals can thrive is a priority for our institution. But don’t just take our word for it—hear from people on our campus.

Why choose us?

Medical professionals

Inclusive

We are committed to creating and fostering a diverse and cohesive faculty, professional staff and student body.

Neighborhood

Health-Equity Focus

Our programs integrate social determinants of health, health disparities and cultural competency content into the curriculum.

Icon of a handshake

Support

Our advising and mentorship programs promote resilience and provide the individualized support needed for success.

Addressing issues that matter

White doctor talking with diverse patient

Unconscious bias training

How do you fight bias if you don't even know it's there? The phenomenon known as "unconscious bias" is the focus of a new institution-wide training.

Unconscious bias training

Campus-Wide Unconscious Bias Training: This effort to raise awareness of unconscious bias is required training for all faculty, staff, students and the school's Board of Directors.

Women in leadership

When it comes to academic medicine, women are entering the field in large numbers.

Women in leadership

In 2018, female students made up 50% of our entering MD class. Women also are gaining ground in all Macon & Joan Brock Virginia Health Sciences at Old Dominion University residency specialties, including traditionally male-dominated areas like surgery, ophthalmology and radiology. Over in the School of Health Professions, female students dominate programs like Surgical Assisting and Physician Assistant, and are entering typically male-led fields, like biomedical sciences, at all-time highs.

Macon & Joan Brock Virginia Health Sciences at Old Dominion places a strong emphasis on increasing access to opportunities for development and advancement, especially for female faculty. Read more about our efforts in the Wonder Women edition of our Digital Magazine.

Expanding pathways to medical education

For the past 40 years, Black male enrollment in medical schools has remained largely unchanged nationwide.

Macon & Joan Brock Virginia Health Sciences at Old Dominion University is committed to expanding access to medical education and strengthening pathways for aspiring healthcare professionals.

To support this effort, we:

  • Partner with local high schools and undergraduate institutions to provide mentorship and guidance for students interested in medical careers.
  • Have implemented a holistic admissions approach to evaluate applicants beyond traditional metrics.
  • Continue to strengthen our BS/MD program, which offers qualified students an opportunity for early acceptance into medical school.
  • Offer a pre-matriculation program to help incoming students acclimate to the campus and prepare for their academic journey.
White doctor talking with diverse patient

Unconscious bias training

How do you fight bias if you don't even know it's there? The phenomenon known as "unconscious bias" is the focus of a new institution-wide training.

group of women from diverse backgrounds

Women in leadership

When it comes to academic medicine, women are entering the field in large numbers.

Unconscious bias training

Campus-Wide Unconscious Bias Training: This effort to raise awareness of unconscious bias is required training for all faculty, staff, students and the school's Board of Directors.

Three black male MD students in their EVMS apartment

Expanding pathways to medical education

For the past 40 years, Black male enrollment in medical schools has remained largely unchanged nationwide.

White doctor talking with diverse patient

Unconscious bias training

How do you fight bias if you don't even know it's there? The phenomenon known as "unconscious bias" is the focus of a new institution-wide training.

group of women from diverse backgrounds

Women in leadership

When it comes to academic medicine, women are entering the field in large numbers.

Three black male MD students in their EVMS apartment

Expanding pathways to medical education

For the past 40 years, Black male enrollment in medical schools has remained largely unchanged nationwide.

Unconscious bias training

Campus-Wide Unconscious Bias Training: This effort to raise awareness of unconscious bias is required training for all faculty, staff, students and the school's Board of Directors.

Women in leadership

In 2018, female students made up 50% of our entering MD class. Women also are gaining ground in all Macon & Joan Brock Virginia Health Sciences at Old Dominion University residency specialties, including traditionally male-dominated areas like surgery, ophthalmology and radiology. Over in the School of Health Professions, female students dominate programs like Surgical Assisting and Physician Assistant, and are entering typically male-led fields, like biomedical sciences, at all-time highs.

Macon & Joan Brock Virginia Health Sciences at Old Dominion places a strong emphasis on increasing access to opportunities for development and advancement, especially for female faculty. Read more about our efforts in the Wonder Women edition of our Digital Magazine.

Macon & Joan Brock Virginia Health Sciences at Old Dominion University is committed to expanding access to medical education and strengthening pathways for aspiring healthcare professionals.

To support this effort, we:

  • Partner with local high schools and undergraduate institutions to provide mentorship and guidance for students interested in medical careers.
  • Have implemented a holistic admissions approach to evaluate applicants beyond traditional metrics.
  • Continue to strengthen our BS/MD program, which offers qualified students an opportunity for early acceptance into medical school.
  • Offer a pre-matriculation program to help incoming students acclimate to the campus and prepare for their academic journey.

Faculty and leadership

Broadening access is a priority at every level and rank within our institution. To uphold this commitment, every faculty and leadership search begins with a comprehensive orientation. This session introduces search committee members to our mission, values, and strategic goals, emphasizing the critical role of faculty recruitment in advancing excellence in education, research, and patient care. 
 
The orientation covers best practices for broad recruitment and retention, ensuring that evaluation criteria are fair and consistent. Committee members also receive guidance on conducting interviews and campus visits, as well as training on Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) and non-discrimination policies. Additionally, a learning session on bias helps participants recognize and mitigate potential biases in the selection process. 
 
By integrating these elements into our recruitment process, we not only cultivate a highly qualified candidate pool but also create a more comprehensive selection process that aligns with our institutional commitment to excellence and fairness.

In addition, our office collaborates with in integrating diversity and inclusion as part of the professional development process for all faculty and leaders.