Commentary

Washington State University Hides Its Comments to the AAMC in the DICE Inventory

  • By Do No Harm Staff
  • November 4, 2023
  • Washington State University Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine

Washington State University’s Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine doesn’t want to reveal just how much it has aligned with the AAMC’s politicized policies for medical schools, as it has shown in its Diversity, Inclusion, Culture, and Equity (DICE) Inventory document it sent 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 Washington State University College of Medicine (WSUCOM). We asked for a copy of its DICE Inventory survey response, so that Washington taxpayers and policymakers could learn the truth about this institution.

However, WSUCOM was unwilling to provide a complete version of the Excel spreadsheet that participating schools sent to AAMC. In April, the school sent an Excel document titled “22-436 Installment No Redactions.xlsx.” But upon review, the spreadsheet has had all the comments columns removed. For example, here is how the Government, Leadership, & Mission tab should appear (there is a column on the right titled “Supporting Evidence – Free Responses” that is available for the school to enter comments):

Figure 1. Except from the AAMC’s DICE Inventory Excel spreadsheet.

This is how the same tab (and all the tabs) of the Excel spreadsheet sent by WSUCOM appears (note how the column for “Supporting Evidence – Free Responses” is missing):

Figure 2. Excerpt from the WSUCOM DICE Inventory Excel spreadsheet.

Upon questioning the Public Records Office at WSU, we were told, “The Office of Public Records did not delete or redact anything from the record. We also verified with the department that provided the record that they did not delete anything from the record prior to submission to the Office of Public Records.” Yet, the comments have mysteriously disappeared from the spreadsheet, which is something we haven’t seen in other cases.

Minus the comments – which were submitted in all other DICE Inventory Excel documents we received – here’s what the Washington State University College 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. An example is the “holistic admissions” process, which WSUCOM openly promotes: “Personal stories, reflection, and life experiences review what academic metrics cannot,” the schools Admissions Requirements webpage states.
  • 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 fact, WSUCOM is so dedicated to this agenda that it posts a 57-page “Strategic Diversity Action Plan” on its DEI office’s website.
  • 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. “As WSU administrators and faculty continue to develop the medical school,” the Strategic Plan page states, “they stay in touch with the universities government affairs office, which maintains regular contact with elected officials who can provide resources to help the college.”
  • 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. In its Guidelines for the Tenure and/or Promotion of Pre-Tenured and Tenured Faculty document, WSUCOM notes that “efforts to promote diversity” are important for applicants to document when describing their service activities.
  • 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 WSUCOM Student, Staff, and Faculty Resources page illustrate its alignment with the DEI position of the AAMC and with intercampus initiatives such as the Equity Committee.

All told, WSUCOM has instituted 89.5% 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.

Figure 3. WSUCOM DICE Inventory overall score.

Washington taxpayers help fund the Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine at Washington State University. 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.