UAB Heersink School of Medicine Offers Discriminatory Scholarships

Do No Harm has asked the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights to investigate the University of Alabama – Birmingham Heersink School of Medicine for offering medical school scholarships that discriminate on the basis of race.

Three endowed scholarships to attend the Heersink School of Medicine listed in UAB’s institutional database (archived link) are “restricted to African-American medical students.” By advertising and administering these discriminatory scholarships, UAB appears to be in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. We filed complaints for these discriminatory eligibility standards and are requesting prompt resolution from the OCR.

Do No Harm works to protect the healthcare industry and individual practitioners against divisive ideologies and practices. If you are aware of a discriminatory scholarship or policy at your medical or nursing school, or if you didn’t apply because you thought a discriminatory policy worked against you, please let us know.