Commentary

UC Riverside School of Medicine Continues the University of California System’s High Marks on the DICE Inventory

  • By Do No Harm Staff
  • March 19, 2023
  • University of California Riverside School of Medicine

Just how woke is California’s UC Riverside School of Medicine (UCR SOM)? Very woke indeed, 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 the UC Riverside School of Medicine. We asked for a copy of its survey response, so that California taxpayers and policymakers could learn the truth about this institution.

Here’s what the UCR School of Medicine 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. UCR SOM reported to the AAMC that applicants to its medical education program “are selected based on mission fitness” (which includes disadvantaged backgrounds) in addition to academic metrics.
  • 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 UCR SOM Statement on Diversity affirms the school is “committed to recruiting students, faculty, and staff responsive to our mission whose diversity contributes to an optimal learning environment.”
  • 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. UCR SOM wanted the AAMC to know that “university representatives have been vocal” with lawmakers in Sacramento and Washington, DC on DEI issues.
  • 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. “During merits and promotions review of faculty progress,” the DICE Inventory response says, “faculty are asked to include a statement on their contribution to diversity, inclusion, and equity.” UCR SOM is seeking the establishment of an annual faculty award “for outstanding contribution to DEI.”
  • 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. University chancellors have written and spoken on “the importance of DEI both in higher education and in medical education.” The DICE Inventory proudly points out UCR’s #1 ranking “in social mobility” and UCR SOM’s #11 ranking in diversity by the US News and World Report in 2022.
Figure 1. UC Riverside School of Medicine DICE Inventory overall score.

All told, UCR SOM has instituted 88.2% 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.

California taxpayers help fund the University of California system. 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 UC Riverside School of medicine stops, and soon.