Commentary

After More Than a Year, the UConn School of Medicine Shares its DICE Inventory: “Things Are in Pieces”

  • By Do No Harm Staff
  • March 25, 2024
  • University of Connecticut School of Medicine

It took 14 months to obtain the information, but the University of Connecticut School of Medicine (UConn) finally provided Do No Harm with the Diversity, Inclusion, Culture, and Equity (DICE) Inventory document it submitted to the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) back in 2021.

In December 2022, we began reporting on the DICE Inventory results of other public medical schools across the country, which we received via freedom of information requests. The FOIA requests were made in response to AAMC’s November 2022 report showing that the vast majority of medical schools have embraced identity politics, despite their divisive and even discriminatory nature. We asked for a copy of UConn’s survey response so that Connecticut taxpayers and policymakers could learn the truth about this institution.

The UConn School of Medicine self-reported that it has an “office, staff, or resources” dedicated to DEI. This means there’s a permanent bureaucracy pushing politicized ideology on faculty and students. UConn claims to be “one of the nation’s top medical schools for diversity.” Yet, the person filling out the survey commented that “the landscape is fractured and dysfunctional” with “much infighting and no funding.” And, at the time of the submission, it was noted, “We do not have a formal diversity plan that covers the entire school. Things are in pieces.”

Eleven of the 14 categories that make up the overall DICE Inventory score were answered as “not applicable,” and no comments were offered in these sections. However, a perfect 100% was achieved in the “Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity Policies” portion of the survey.

Even with its minimal responses, the UConn School of Medicine managed to institute 76.7% of the divisive and discriminatory DEI-related policies listed by the AAMC, indicating “moderate Diversity, Inclusion, Culture, and Equity efforts.”

Figure 1. UConn School of Medicine DICE Inventory overall score.

Connecticut taxpayers help fund the UConn School of Medicine. They, and the policymakers who represent them, should ask why they’re giving so much money to an institution that dedicated itself to putting divisive and discriminatory ideology at the heart of medical education.