Dear Colleagues:
I am pleased to announce that Frederick “Erick” Lansigan, MD, associate professor of medicine and of dermatology, has agreed to serve as our Interim Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (ADDEI). In this role, Dr. Lansigan will oversee Geisel’s Office of Diversity, Inclusion, and Community Engagement (DICE) and will work closely with leadership at the medical school, Dartmouth College, Dartmouth-Hitchcock, the VA Medical Center, and the Guarini School of Graduate and Advanced Studies, as well as Geisel’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee, to support our school’s continuing efforts to build a diverse and inclusive community of students, residents, postdocs, staff, and faculty.
Dr. Lansigan joined D-H and the Geisel faculty in 2009 and has served D-H as the Medical Director of Inpatient Cancer Services since 2013, and the Director of Clinical Trials in Hematology since 2015. He has been a leader at D-H on DEI issues, serving as Principal for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for the Department of Medicine since July 2020. In this role, he has successfully received grant funding for three new projects that look to:
- Address issues of Diversity, Education, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) in GME education, faculty hiring and promotions,
- Quantify the experiences of Underrepresented Minority Physicians in training at rural academic medical centers,
- Develop and pilot a Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) curriculum within the Department of Medicine that focuses on building leadership skills in social justice in healthcare delivery and healthcare organizations.
At D-H, Dr. Lansigan has been instrumental in the Affinity and Belonging Council (ABC) to create employee resource groups for underrepresented communities with shared lived experiences. Over time he hopes to connect the Geisel student affinity groups to the D-H employee resource groups, to enhance the visibility and mission of these diverse communities on our campuses.
As an educator, Dr. Lansigan has been active with DEI issues at Geisel, recently co-leading a lecture and workshop for Geisel students entering into clerkships entitled, “Responding to Patient Bias” which was well-received by students. He also served as key faculty for the Geisel DEI Committee last year. He is looking forward to engaging with Geisel students and the GDEI Committee to address DEI-related issues at Geisel. He envisions working with other Dartmouth institutions, including D-H, to improve the culture of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging across all our campuses.
Please welcome Dr. Erick Lansigan as the Interim ADDEI at Geisel. He will officially start his role in September but will lead the newly elected GDEI Committee starting July 21.
Also, please join me in thanking Dr. Diana Wu for her excellent work as our Interim ADDEI for the past year. Moving forward, Dr. Wu will be leading our longitudinal curriculum in race and health equity.
Our nationwide search for a new ADDEI will recommence soon, aided by the search firm Isaacson Miller. This is a critical role for the medical school, and we hope to find the right candidate to be a long-term leader for our DEI efforts.
Duane.