Commentary

UC Irvine School of Medicine Tells AAMC It Considers Applicants “With GPA Below Benchmark” – If They Meet Certain Criteria

  • By Do No Harm Staff
  • April 26, 2023
  • University of California Irvine School of Medicine

The University of California system continues to show its commitment to the implementation of woke policies at the UC Irvine School of Medicine (UCI SOM), including those related to its admissions criteria. The institution’s own words and actions speak for themselves.

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 UCI SOM. 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 UC Irvine 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. UCI SOM says it revised its secondary application criteria and will consider students “with GPA below benchmark who have completed a post-baccalaureate program.” DICE inventory responses also reflect that the school is giving “special consideration” to students from “disadvantaged backgrounds” and those who “have served the Latino community” as part of its “holistic admissions process.” This commitment is reiterated in the SOM’s Diversity Statement.
Figure 1. UCI SOM Diversity Statement.
  • 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 In addition to the UCI DEI offices, the med school maintains its own DEI department, featuring “mission-based programs” that identify students according to race/ethnicity. UCI SOM also informed AAMC of the development of a Belonging, Equity, and Empowerment unit and two diversity officer positions.
Figure 2. Leadership Education to Advance Diversity-African, Black & Caribbean and LEAD-Latino Community programs at UC Irvine School of Medicine.
  • 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 DICE Inventory listed the names of several university staff members who are active at the State Capitol and in government relations.
  • 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 form used to review merit, tenure, and promotion applications contains sections to describe “diversity activities” related to teaching, creative activities, and professional/public service. “In addition,” the DICE Inventory reveals, “candidates are able to submit a separate Diversity Statement if they have significant diversity activities to highlight beyond these sections.” Additionally, the responses state that the SOM has participated in ongoing “Black Thriving Initiative cluster hires.”
  • 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. UCI SOM boasts being “active within the AAMC community” and creation of the Clinical Faculty Equity and Diversity Advisory Committee in 2020.
Figure 3. UC Irvine School of Medicine overall DICE Inventory score.

All told, UCI SOM has instituted 95.2% 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 UC Irvine School of Medicine. 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 UCI SOM stops, and soon.