At the Heersink School of Medicine, diversity is everyone. Diversity encompasses all of the ways people are similar and different. It doesn't include some groups and exclude others. Everyone plays a role in the creation of a more diverse medical school.

A diverse academic environment yields higher quality scientific research, according to findings published by Katherine W. Phillips, professor and senior vice dean at Columbia Business School. Phillips observes that decades of research bear out the finding that socially diverse groups (that is, groups with members hailing from a different backgrounds, races, ethnicities, genders and sexual orientations) are more innovative than groups that are more homogenous. She notes that the key to understanding the positive influence of diversity is the concept of informational diversity. When people come together to solve problems in groups, they bring different information, opinions and perspectives. This is correlated with better performance and greater innovation.

A diverse perspective can come from any source; as each individual brings their unique observations, body of knowledge, and experiences to the table, the Heersink School of Medicine as a whole benefits.