Founded in 1999, the Diversity Advisory Committee (DAC) explores and addresses the diversity needs of the UC Davis Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. The DAC is comprised of faculty members and trainees interested in diversity issues related to training, clinical services and research. Meetings are held  monthly to address these needs within the department.

UC Davis serves as an ideal training site for cultural competency in psychiatry based upon 3 criteria: diversity of patient population, “critical mass” of interested faculty/residents, and support of the administration.

Hailed by Time magazine as America’s most diverse city, Sacramento boasts one of the most culturally diverse patient populations in the country. At the same time, ethnic minority faculty members represent a third of the total faculty. These faculty serve as models and mentors for psychiatry residents interested in cultural competency, ethnic minority residents interested in academic psychiatry, as well as ethnic minority medical students interested in a career in psychiatry.

From the very beginning, the UC Davis Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences has supported the DAC both by providing monetary, staff and faculty support. It has also strengthened the ranks of ethnic minority faculty interested in teaching cultural competency through recruitment and retention. In turn, these faculty form the core of the DAC.

As a group, the DAC has sponsored four continuing medical education symposia, five APA/SAMHSA Minority Fellows and two APA/AstraZeneca Minority Fellows, as well as many nationally prominent grand rounds speakers. The DAC has won multiple university-wide awards and national recognition for teaching culturally competent care.