Charleston, SC — The Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) has been ranked No. 53 out of 250 organizations on the Forbes 2018 list of America’s Best Employers for Diversity. In addition, MUSC ranked No. 6 among the 20 institutions listed in the education category.

In collaboration with Statista, Forbes asked 30,000 employees working for large U.S. companies and organizations to evaluate their employers on issues of diversity in the workplace. Participation in the survey was voluntary, and respondents were recruited from thousands of sources to maximize reach and representation of the U.S. workforce. A company’s score is determined by four parts: direct employee recommendations, a public perception score, percentage share of women who fill top executive and board positions, and an index of objective and publicly available diversity KPIs (key performance indicators). One of the KPIs used in the scoring is proactive communication of diverse company culture.

“We take great pride in this recognition from Forbes because it acknowledges noteworthy progress toward achieving one of the five goals of our strategy for the future – to Embrace Diversity and Inclusion,” said MUSC President David J. Cole, M.D., FACS. “Together the D&I implementation teams led by our two chief diversity officers are pushing MUSC forward as an institution in a thoughtful, strategic and measurable way. The work these teams are doing is vital to the continued success of MUSC, and we need the ongoing commitment and engagement of our entire institution if we are going to succeed – not just in the short term but long term as well.”

“Diversity has become a business imperative, because it makes businesses better places and richer in every sense of the word,” said Forbes’ Leadership Editor Fred Allen. “We hope that by introducing the definitive listing honoring the top performers we will stir discussion of the importance of diversity and inclusion and reinforce employers’ determination to do the best at it they can.”

“Our large survey of employees has shown that diversity is a highly relevant factor when choosing an employer,” said Statista CEO Dr. Friedrich Schwandt.

To view the entire Forbes list, visit: www.forbes.com/sites/forbespr/2018/01/23/forbes-releases-first-ever-list-of-americas-best-employers-for-diversity/

MUSC has two chief diversity officers (CDO) — Willette Burnham-Williams, Ph.D., CDO for the university, and Anton J. Gunn, MSW, CDO for the health system. In addition, each of the six colleges at MUSC has a diversity officer, focused on achieving shared institutional D&I goals. With the active commitment of the most senior leaders throughout the enterprise, Burnham-Williams and Gunn collaborate across a workforce of more than 13,000 employees, along with nearly 3,000 students and 700 residents, to address the strategic D&I goals and outcomes identified in the organization’s five-year strategic plan, titled Imagine MUSC 2020.

Dr. Cole and his leadership team have consistently stated that at MUSC, there are three reasons why embracing diversity and inclusion is of pivotal importance:

• It is who we should be as an institution. We are creating an environment where all individuals – students, faculty, staff, patients and visitors – truly believe they are in the right place and they belong here.

• It is how we build upon who we are and what we can achieve together. MUSC aspires to change the future through innovation in all of our domains – education, research and patient care.

• It affects the bottom line. It is about being our most productive and effective. People who feel valued are empowered to contribute and to be at their best.

To read more about MUSC efforts in support of Diversity and Inclusion, please access the article from a nationally recognized publication that tracks the details of Diversity in Higher Education. MUSC was profiled in 2016 and won a National Award in 2017: www.insightintodiversity.com/medical-university-of-south-carolina-transforms-its-culture-through-accountability/