Commentary

We Found Out How Woke the University of Houston College of Medicine Really Is

  • By Do No Harm Staff
  • December 27, 2022
  • University of Houston Tilman J. Fertitta College of Medicine

Just how woke is Texas’s University of Houston College of Medicine? Very woke indeed, as it just confirmed to Do No Harm.

Here’s the background. In October 2022, the Association of American Medical Colleges released a report showing that the vast majority of medical schools have embraced identity politics, despite their divisive and even discriminatory nature. The report was based on surveys of specific medical schools, which the AAMC didn’t name.

For the sake of transparency and accountability, Do No Harm submitted freedom of information requests to public medical schools nationwide, including UHCOM. We asked for a copy of its survey response, so that Texas taxpayers and policymakers could learn the truth about this institution.

Here’s what the University of Houston College of Medicine has self-reported:

  • It has a “dedicated office, staff, or resources” dedicated to DEI. This means there’s a permanent woke bureaucracy pushing ideology on faculty and students. 
  • It lobbies for woke policies at the federal, state, and/or local levels. This means it’s wading into toxic public debates instead of fully focusing on educating future physicians. 
  • It offers tenure and promotion to faculty who prove their commitment to extreme identity politics and woke priorities. This is a litmus test that requires faculty to toe the party line instead of teaching medicine at the highest level.
  • Its administrators are active within local, regional, and national forums to promote equity, diversity, and inclusion. This means it’s wasting resources that would be better spent on real medical education.  

All told, UHCOM has instituted 85.1% of the divisive and discriminatory woke policies listed by the AAMC. And you can bet it is feeling pressure from activists and outside groups to go even further down the radical rabbit hole – doing even more damage to faculty, medical students, and ultimately, the millions of patients they’ll see.

University of Houston College of Medicine DICE Inventory score.

Texas taxpayers help fund UHCOM. They, and the policymakers who represent them, should ask why they’re giving so much money to an institution that’s putting divisive and discriminatory ideology at the heart of medical education. More importantly, they should ensure the University of Houston College of Medicine stops, and soon.