Commentary

VCU School of Medicine DICE Inventory Score: 94.4%

  • By Do No Harm Staff
  • April 26, 2023
  • Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine

The Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine received a top-tier score on the DICE Inventory it submitted to AAMC.

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 VCU School of Medicine (VCUSOM). We asked for a copy of its survey response, so that Virginia taxpayers and policymakers could learn the truth about this institution.

Here’s what the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine has self-reported:

  • It has adopted racially discriminatory admissions practices under the guise of “affirmative action.”  VCUSOM commented, “Most graduate programs no longer require the GRE exam in part because of cultural biases in exam performance.” This means it’s potentially lowering standards in the name of diversity, thereby threatening patient health.

Figure 1. From the VCUSOM “Future Applicants” website.
  • It has a “dedicated office, staff, or resources” dedicated to DEI, evidenced by VCU’s 17-member Institutional Equity (IE) Council in its Office of Institutional Equity, Effectiveness, and Success. This means there’s a permanent woke bureaucracy pushing ideology on faculty and students. 
Figure 2. From the VCU Office of Institutional Equity, Effectiveness, and Success website.
  • It lobbies for woke policies at the federal, state, and/or local levels via the Office of Government Relations within the Office of the President. 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. The Office of Institutional Equity, Effectiveness, and Success is involved in promotion and tenure, modifying its guidelines “to include recognition of Community Engagement (archived page) as an accepted criteria for evaluation.” This is a litmus test that requires faculty to toe the party line instead of teaching medicine at the highest level.
Figure 3. From the VCU Office of Institutional Equity, Effectiveness, and Success Community Engagement page.
  • Its administrators are active within local, regional, and national forums to promote equity, diversity, and inclusion. VCUSOM said that DEI “colleagues” on its campuses have “engaged in state-level initiatives regarding required non-discrimination training with the Virginia Governor’s Office.” This means it’s wasting resources that would be better spent on real medical education.
Figure 4. VCU School of Medicine DICE Inventory score.

All told, the VCU School of Medicine has instituted 94.4% 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.

Virginia taxpayers help fund the VCUSOM. 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 Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine stops, and soon.