Drew University Seeking To Increase Hispanic Leadership, Outreach Efforts
Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science in South Los Angeles is seeking to rebrand itself as a "multicultural institution" in recognition of "the need to expand beyond the school's African American roots to tap into the growing political clout held by Latinos, now the majority in South Los Angeles," the Los Angles Times reports. Drew University and the Martin Luther King Jr./Drew Medical Center, which is located across the street, opened in the early 1970s, shortly after the Watts riots, to address a lack of accessible medical care for residents of South L.A., which was predominantly black at the time. The university has had problems with its residency programs and three have been shut down, according to the Times. Last month, the school had to shut down its residency education program for physician residents at King/Drew hospital, which is scheduled to lose its Medicare funding after failing a quality inspection and having other violations. Under the new effort, Drew University is seeking to increase the number of Hispanics on the board of trustees and on the faculty. In November, the school's 11-member board of trustees added a third Hispanic, and the Latino Leadership Roundtable, a 30-member Hispanic advisory committee, was launched. The group plans to increase the availability of scholarships for Hispanic students, sponsor cancer research and create a Spanish language and cultural center on the campus. The group also is considering collaborating with the National Autonomous University of Mexico and has "debated the plight of foreign-trained health care workers who lack the credentials to practice" in the U.S., the Times reports. Drew University President Susan Kelly said, "We know that Latinos are in need of accessible health care, and you cannot provide care without doctors, nurses and other medical professionals, and frankly, that is why we are here" (Mitchell, Los Angeles Times, 12/16).
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