DALLAS – Dec. 3, 2020 – Quinn Capers IV, M.D., a nationally recognized leader on diversity and inclusion in academic medicine, has joined UT Southwestern as associate dean for faculty diversity and the inaugural vice chair for diversity and inclusion in the department of internal medicine at UT Southwestern.
Capers, a cardiologist, comes to UT Southwestern from The Ohio State University College of Medicine, where he served as vice dean for faculty affairs and professor of internal medicine. During a decade as associate dean for admissions, he led efforts to make Ohio State one of the most diverse medical schools in the U.S.
Capers was recently recognized as the 2020 recipient of The Exemplary Leadership Award of the Group on Diversity and Inclusion from the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC). The award recognizes innovative leadership in developing and implementing a highly effective program that demonstrates evidence-based best practices for enhancing diversity and inclusion in academic medicine and biomedical sciences.
“At UT Southwestern, I will be collaborating with a talented team to build on current efforts to enhance the diverse and inclusive climate of this world-class faculty,” Capers says. “The spirit of innovation at UTSW is the perfect setting for launching novel strategies to recruit, support, and promote diverse physicians and scientists.”
As associate dean, Capers oversees and develops initiatives that expand faculty diversity and ensure inclusion and equity for faculty across all departments and mission areas. He will build on existing programs, working closely with Byron Cryer, M.D., associate dean for faculty development and professor of internal medicine, and Helen Yin, Ph.D., associate dean for women’s careers and professor of physiology. Capers will also serve as a member of the UTSW President’s Council on Diversity and Inclusion.
Capers’ appointment reflects the commitment to diversity and inclusion at UT Southwestern, where the workforce is majority-minority with 38 percent identifying as white. UT Southwestern’s Offices of Student Diversity & Inclusion and Faculty Diversity & Development are responsible for recruiting and retaining top students and faculty to campus, while also implementing strategies to promote the growth and presence of women and underrepresented minorities. At UT Southwestern Medical School, the percentage of underrepresented minorities is 27 percent for the Class of 2024, nearly double the national average of 14 percent.
“Diversity and inclusion are integral to UT Southwestern’s mission of preparing a new generation of health care professionals to serve highly diverse communities in North Texas and beyond,” says W. P. Andrew Lee, M.D., executive vice president for academic affairs, provost, and dean of UT Southwestern Medical School. “Dr. Capers brings invaluable experience and perspective to our efforts to expand diversity and inclusion among our faculty and the entire UT Southwestern community.”
Capers has led workshops across the country that have trained more than 1,000 physicians in strategies to reduce implicit racial bias. He is an inaugural member of the American College of Cardiology’s Diversity and Inclusion Task Force.
In the new vice chair role, Capers will develop policies and practices consistent with the department of internal medicine’s goals to ensure equal opportunity for all faculty, trainees, and staff and to expand diversity within the department. He will work to ensure that diversity and inclusion is an intrinsic component of all of the department’s clinical, research, and educational programs.
Capers is a professor of internal medicine and holds the Rody P. Cox, M.D. Professorship in Internal Medicine. He will also see patients, both directly and during supervision of trainees at the UT Southwestern Clinical Heart and Vascular Center, William P. Clements Jr. University Hospital, and Parkland Memorial Hospital.
“One of my main passions is to reduce or eliminate health care disparities. Toward that end, I am very excited to teach trainees and treat patients at Clements University Hospital and the legendary Parkland Hospital,” Capers says.
A native of Dayton, Ohio, Capers is a graduate of Howard University and Ohio State’s College of Medicine. He completed an internal medicine residency and fellowships in vascular biology research, cardiovascular medicine, and interventional cardiology at Emory University.
Cryer holds the John C. Vanatta, III, Professorship in Internal Medicine. Lee holds the Atticus James Gill, M.D. Chair in Medical Science. Yin is a Distinguished Teaching Professor, and holds the Margaret Yin Chair for the Advancement of Women Faculty, and the Peter and Jean D. Dehlinger Professorship in Biomedical Science.
About UT Southwestern Medical Center
UT Southwestern, one of the premier academic medical centers in the nation, integrates pioneering biomedical research with exceptional clinical care and education. The institution’s faculty has received six Nobel Prizes, and includes 23 members of the National Academy of Sciences, 17 members of the National Academy of Medicine, and 13 Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigators. The full-time faculty of more than 2,500 is responsible for groundbreaking medical advances and is committed to translating science-driven research quickly to new clinical treatments. UT Southwestern physicians provide care in about 80 specialties to more than 105,000 hospitalized patients, nearly 370,000 emergency room cases, and oversee approximately 3 million outpatient visits a year.
