Rob and Dana
Smith Fund
at Harvard Medical School
Benefactor Report
January 2025
Table of Contents
01.
Dean Daley
Cover Letter
03.
2024 HEART Program
Learn More
02.
Updates from ORMA
Learn More
Rob and Dana Smith Fund
Letter from the Dean
March 18, 2025
Dear Rob and Dana,
I am deeply grateful for your support of Harvard Medical School through the Robert and Dana Smith Dean’s Fund for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. During the 2023-2024 academic year, your support continued to nurture an environment of inclusivity, as well as provide leadership development and mentorship opportunities for students and faculty with backgrounds historically underrepresented in medicine. The fund continues to be instrumental in fostering a vibrant and inclusive health sciences community across HMS and our affiliates.
By supporting two key staff positions within the Office of Recruitment and Multicultural Affairs (ORMA), the fund enabled numerous initiatives to enhance diversity and strengthen community connections. Your support also facilitated networking mixers organized in partnership with the hospitals, in addition to student-led events celebrating the diverse backgrounds of students, faculty, and staff.
The fund also made possible the second iteration of the Harvard/MIT Equitable Access to Research Training (HEART) MD-PhD Summer Program. This 10-week, fully-funded initiative for undergraduate students is a collaborative effort between HMS, MIT, and Harvard-affiliated hospitals. This past summer, the program, led primarily by students, enrolled nine scholars to participate in medical research and faculty mentorship.
Your generous contribution ensures that students from all backgrounds can flourish as future leaders in medicine and healthcare. I am also immensely grateful for your willingness to speak at our Legacies of Excellence event January 9, and look forward to seeing you there. You and your family have supported scholarship and teaching excellence across Harvard for so many decades; on behalf of the university, thank you for your longstanding support of our academic community.
George Q. Daley, MD, PhD
Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, Harvard University
Caroline Shields Walker Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School
George Q Daley, MD, PhD | Dean of the Faculty of Medicine | Caroline Shields Walker Professor of Medicine 25 Shattuck Street, Boston, MA 02115 | t: (617) 432-1501 | e: George_Daley@hms.harvard.edu
OFFICE OF RECRUITMENT AND MULTICULTURAL AFFAIRS
Student Recruitment and Retention Efforts
The Office of Recruitment and Multicultural Affairs (ORMA) is committed to recruiting a diverse cohort of MD students and fostering diversity and inclusion throughout the MD program at HMS. Since its founding in 1969, ORMA has collaborated closely with the Admissions Office to attract, support, and nurture medical students from groups historically underrepresented in medicine (URiM) and those who identify as LGBTQIA+.
Harpreet Singh, the assistant director of recruitment and multicultural affairs, coordinated the annual “Passing the Torch” retreat last year, designed to equip new student club leaders with resources to cultivate an inclusive community. Last year’s retreat included a working dinner divided into two components. The first component focused on leadership styles, utilizing the “Winning Colors” program to help participants identify their leadership traits and improve team communication and collaboration. The second component addressed the “passing the torch” process, during which current student leaders shared insights on accessing faculty and staff support, applying for funding, and event planning. Feedback showed that students left feeling empowered and well-prepared for their leadership roles, with many expressing gratitude for the mentorship and support from ORMA and the outgoing executive boards.
Singh also helped to organize Fabric 2024, held on April 1, titled “Kubitana Kwakanaka,” which means “beautiful ties” in Shona, a language spoken by the people of Zimbabwe. The event’s organizers chose this theme to highlight the strength and beauty of the connections that unite the HMS community. The event was a huge success, with over 100 students from all years participating in vocal performances, choreography, poetry, and a fashion show. Additionally, more than 150 admitted students attended the event, gaining a deeper understanding of how HMS celebrates diversity and supports students from all backgrounds. Singh remarked that some admitted students mentioned that the vibrant community spirit and inclusivity they observed at Fabric strongly influenced their decision to attend HMS.
Dakota Roundtree-Swain, ORMA’s diversity and inclusion manager, is a crucial partner for the LGBTQIA+ and Allies at HMS (LAHMS) group. Dakota assists LAHMS by organizing events, including the annual queer sexual education workshop. In April, they facilitated a visit of Grammy-nominated singer Chappell Roanto HMS, whose talk motivated students to embrace the complexities and joys of navigating the world as queer individuals. Over 60 students, residents, and faculty attended the event.
On Tuesday, April 2, the second day of Admitted Students Preview Days, HMS hosted Camp Harvard to showcase the LGBTQIA+ community. The event focused on and celebrated the queer identities of students, faculty, and staff. Approximately 30 current students, faculty, and trainees attended, along with 25 admitted students. Feedback from the event indicated that attendees left the event feeling invigorated and developed a deeper sense of connection and belonging within the HMS community.
Finally, the Smith Fund supported several recruitment activities aimed at attracting diverse medical students, with ORMA prioritizing conferences such as the NIH Graduate and Professional School Fair, the Association of American Indian Physicians Annual Meeting and Health Conference, and the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minoritized Scientists.