Welcoming Diversity with Dr. Clyde Yancy

Clyde Yancy, MD is the Vice Dean for Diversity and Inclusion and Chief of Cardiology in the Department of Medicine at Northwestern University. He is the Magerstadt Professor and Professor of Medical Social Sciences at Feinberg School of Medicine. Dr. Yancy completed his medical school at Tulane University and his residency in internal medicine at Parkland Memorial Hospital. He pursued a Fellowship in Cardiology and Advanced Heart Failure Transplant from UT Southwestern. A renowned cardiovascular researcher, he has been consistently recognized by Thomson Reuters as a Highly Cited Researcher in the Top 1% of all Researchers in the Field and is the Deputy Editor of JAMA Cardiology. He is an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine and the Association of American Physicians and has been recognized with the Excellence in Teaching Award by Northwestern Medicine. Dr. Clyde Yancy was born in 1958 in the deep south, raised by a single mother. He is the grandson of sharecroppers, the great-great-grandson of slaves. Growing up, Dr. Yancy understood what it was like to not be welcomed. Now the Vice Dean for diversity and inclusion at Northwestern University, Dr. Yancy shares how society can only thrive in a world where we accommodate, welcome and understand diversity. “Our future excellence will not come from a single monochromatic lens. It's going to come from a kaleidoscope.” Pearls of Wisdom: 1. Future excellence will not be through a single lens, but a kaleidoscope. We must embrace, welcome, and promote diversity. That will bring innovation, which is needed in medicine today. 2. In mentorship, nothing is more important than Competence (with a capital C). Also, you will need different mentors at different stages of your life. 3. Sometimes we are lucky enough to find mentors who give us professional guidance, such as teaching us that busy doesn’t equal productive, and who personally support us during the most difficult times in our lives. 4. Embrace the fail. Failure teaches more than success ever could.