Commentary

OCR Has Opened a Federal Civil Rights Investigation vs. St. Louis University

  • By Do No Harm Staff
  • March 13, 2023
  • St. Louis University School of Medicine

The U. S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has opened an investigation vs. St. Louis University for a racially discriminatory program. The St. Louis University School of Medicine (SLUSOM) offers the Scholarship Program for Visiting Medical Students Underrepresented in Medicine in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences. According to the program application, applicants must “identify as a member of a group underrepresented in medicine” (URiM). In the eligibility criteria, SLUSOM refers to the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) definition of URiM:

Underrepresented in medicine means those racial and ethnic populations that are underrepresented in the medical profession relative to their numbers in the general population.” This lens currently includes students who identify as African Americans and/or Black, Hispanic/Latino, Native American (American Indians, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians), Pacific Islander, and mainland Puerto Rican.

Figure 1. SLUCOM Visiting Medical Students Underrepresented in Medicine program application.

Medical students who are not members of one of the five designated racial/ethnic groups above in bold are illegally excluded from applying, in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.