Report of the 2013-2014 Argus Commission: Diversity and Inclusion in Pharmacy Education

INTRODUCTION The American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy Argus Commission is comprised of the five immediate past AACP presidents and is annually charged by the AACP President to examine one or more strategic questions related to pharmacy education, often in the context of environmental scanning. President Peggy Piascik charged the 2013-14 Argus Commission with a broad examination of the issue of diversity and specifically with identifying responses to the following question: How can we more effectively address and serve the diversity in our membership at both the institutional and individual level and prepare our learners to serve an increasingly diverse population of consumers? The Commission examined issues of diversity and inclusion from five distinct but related perspectives. These included: 1) societal diversity; 2) the applicant pipeline; 3) current students; 4) pharmacy faculty, and; 5) AACP and its member institutions. The analysis included an examination of trends over a period of approximately ten years plus projections related to specific demographic parameters. The work of the Argus Commission benefited from several recent publications. Navigating Diversity and Inclusion in Veterinary Medicine (1) provides a comprehensive analysis of demographic trends and issues interpreted for the veterinary profession, many of which apply equally to this analysis. The American Council on Education (ACE) released in June 2013 the fourth monograph in their series on diversity in higher education. "A Matter of Excellence: A Guide to Strategic Diversity Leadership and Accountability in Higher Education" (2) provides substantive guidance on diversity policy and practice in the academy. The Commission's discussions were also influenced by the contributions in the literature of Scott Page (3) and colleagues who have written about the value proposition of diverse working groups, including the construct of diversity of thought and perspectives. This is a theme that will be central to the Argus Commission report and recommendations. THE CASE FOR DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION In The Difference: How the Power of Diversity Creates Better Groups, Firms, Schools, and Societies (3), Scott Page first defines terms related to diversity and then differentiates cognitive diversity (e.g., thought, perspective) from identity diversity (e.g., race, ethnicity, gender). He then provides the evidence supporting the subtitle that suggests diversity is stronger than homogeneity in multiple contexts. In his introduction he emphasizes that "diversity does not translate magically into benefits." He notes that diversity must be relevant, collegial and understood more deeply by those working to bring the benefits of diversity and inclusion into the community, schools, workplace and society in general. Diversity requires commitment from all levels of leadership. He contends that in many situations diversity trumps individual ability and that cognitive diversity has a stronger evidence base than identity diversity. In the introduction of "A Matter of Excellence" (2), the authors "challenge the higher education community to face the imperatives of a new reality in which diversity is no longer simply a question of moral and social responsibility, but a matter of achieving excellence and gaining competitive advantages in the world we live in today: a matter of improving organizational creativity, learning, problem solving, and institutional effectiveness--of sustainability and relevance in a twenty-first century knowledge economy." The monograph offers higher education institutions a clear and compelling roadmap for building diversity into the infrastructure of the organization at every level. It calls for efforts involving senior leaders, chief diversity officers, deans, department chairs, students, faculty, alumni and others to work toward a common goal: "to move beyond the cycle of diversity crisis, action, relaxation, and disappointment that has been repeated so frequently on college and university campuses. …