DiVersity Matters: a review of the diversity initiative of the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges.

In 2004, the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges took the bold step of prioritizing diversity as a core value through the hiring of a full-time staff person. The organization then pressed forward in 2005 by launching a national plan devoted to increasing diversity in academic veterinary medicine. In the years since its inception, the DiVersity Matters initiative has overseen significant diversity changes in US colleges of veterinary medicine. Dedicated diversity programming can have a positive impact on academic veterinary medicine and the larger veterinary profession. This paper provides an overview of DiVersity Matters since its 2005 launch and how the initiative is evolving under the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges' Strategic Plan.