The Wayne State University School of Medicine has adopted a new mission statement.

The new statement, announced by Dean Jack D. Sobel, M.D., on Oct. 22, reads:

Vision:
Wayne State University School of Medicine faculty and staff will graduate a diverse group of physicians and biomedical scientists who will transform the promise of equal health into a reality for all.

Mission:
We will educate a diverse student body in an urban setting and within a culture of inclusion, through high quality education, clinical excellence, pioneering research, local investment in our community and innovative technology, to prepare physician and biomedical scientific leaders to achieve health and wellness for our society.

Commitment:
We are privileged to serve our community, state, nation, and the world as innovators in medicine, health, prevention and wellness.

"This wording is much more reflective of who we are and what we strive to accomplish," Dean Sobel said. "All of our actions should relate to and flow from these institutional core values."

The new mission statement was developed by a group of faculty and students, said Herbert Smitherman Jr., M.D., M.P.H., F.A.C.P., interim vice dean of Diversity and Inclusion and assistant dean of Community and Urban Health.

Previous mission statements, Dr. Smitherman noted, were too wordy and biomedically-related, and never addressed the issue of diversity.

"This will be our core purpose," he said. "It will drive who we are and what we do."

The new mission statement has already begun appearing on the school's website and official paperwork and documents. Dean Sobel said several plaques containing the statement will soon be mounted in prominent areas of Scott Hall and the Mazurek Medical Education Commons.