Equity, Diversity and Inclusion

Our Commitment to Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion

Consistent with the University of California’s mission of fostering inclusive excellence, the University of California San Diego Department of Pediatrics and its training programs are committed to cultivating a diverse, equitable, and inclusive environment.  Our Department is committed to identifying systemic structures and individual hidden biases, and to counteract these forces as we interact with patients, families, colleagues, and trainees. Our goal is to create an inclusive environment that allows us to attract, retain, and support a diverse faculty, staff, and trainee population who will advance the field of Pediatrics and provide excellent care to our diverse CA population. We are particularly committed to creating an inclusive, engaging, and respectful culture, and educating our trainees to not only be scientific and clinical leaders in Pediatrics, but also to be firmly committed to advancing equitable care for all children. 

Examples of our commitment to these ideals include: the creation of a UCSD Pediatrics Vice Chair and Committee on Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, the appointment of an Associate Program Director of Diversity within the Pediatric residency training program, working jointly with the resident diversity collaborative  (a grassroots effort led by residents to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion) to support their efforts, creation of mentorship programs for faculty and trainees, and ongoing training and education for all our faculty and trainees as we continue to address inequities in health care and foster a supportive and inclusive work environment.  

Please visit our EDI website for more information

di•ver•sity n. Diversity refers to the variety of personal experiences, values, and worldviews that arise from differences of culture and circumstance. Such differences include race, ethnicity, gender, age, religion, language, abilities/disabilities, sexual orientation, gender identity, socioeconomic status, geographic region, and more.
e•qui•ty n. Equity constitutes equality of opportunity and parity in access to information and resources for all students, faculty, and staff.
in•clu•sion n. Inclusion exists when we create an environment that promotes and values collaborative input, mutual respect and recognition, and diverse perspectives. Inclusion is reflected in our institutional practices and actions that encourage full participation of all campus members.


Associate Program Director for Diversity

Atim (Uya) Ekpenyong, MD
Associate Clinical Professor, Department of Pediatrics
Director of Point-of-Care Ultrasound Program
Division of Emergency Medicine

Vice Chair for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion

Kyung (Kay) Rhee, MD, MSc, MA, FAAP
Clinical Professor, Department of Pediatrics
Medical Director, MBU and Center for Healthy Eating and Activity Research
Research Director, Pediatric Hospital Medicine