Commentary
In a DICE Inventory Clean Sweep, SUNY Downstate College of Medicine Scores a “Perfect” 100%
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Just how woke is the State University of New York (SUNY) Downstate Health Sciences University College of Medicine (HSU COM)? The wokest of all, as it just confirmed to Do No Harm.
Here’s the background. In November 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 SUNY Downstate College of Medicine. We asked for a copy of its survey response, so that New York taxpayers and policymakers could learn the truth about this institution.
Here’s what the SUNY Downstate HSU COM has self-reported:
- It has adopted racially discriminatory admissions practices under the guise of “affirmative action.” This means it’s potentially lowering standards in the name of diversity, thereby threatening patient health. “The COM has a comprehensive plan for promoting diversity and inclusion in the medical admissions process,” the school reported to AAMC. “There is also an extensive tracking process.”
- 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. The College of Medicine proudly noted that there is “an established Office of Diversity Education and Research,” as well as an Office of Diversity and Inclusion. The school’s website lists the Office for Institutional Equity as “the central hub for unifying and coordinating” all the DEI initiatives at SUNY Downstate HSU. Plus, SUNY has proven its devotion to DEI and social justice with its recently announced mandate for racial equity courses as a condition of graduation.
- 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. The COM also works closely with the Association of Medical Schools in New York “to advocate for DEI policies.”
- 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. The COM has an established “plan for diversity recruitment that is based on our mission-driven needs for diversity.” Department chairs regularly report to the Dean on “faculty hiring, retention, and promotion and tenure.”
- 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. The College of Medicine “is very supportive” of its faculty’s national presence and presentations at national meetings of its DEI efforts.
All told, the SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University College of Medicine has instituted 100% of the divisive and discriminatory woke policies listed by the AAMC – the first perfect score we have seen. And you can bet it will respond to 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.
New York taxpayers help fund the SUNY Downstate HSU COM. 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 COM stops, and soon.