Commentary

UW-Madison’s Medical School Adopts Divisive DEI Policies, According to Internal Survey

  • By Do No Harm Staff
  • April 7, 2024
  • University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health

The School of Medicine and Public Health (SMPH) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison has adopted a set of concerning policies, according to an internal Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging (EDIB) survey conducted in 2023. SMPH’s responses indicated that the school has successfully implemented nearly all of the model policies outlined in the survey. Many of these policies are controversial because of their potential to discriminate against faculty and students based on race or other identity characteristics.

The EDIB survey at UW-Madison is similar to other DEI-inventories, such as the DICE survey conducted by the Association of American Medical Colleges. These surveys offer alarming insight into the practices and goals of leading medical institutions that appear to prioritize diversity goals over merit and rigor. Moreover, many diversity, equity, and inclusion policies are shown to increase divisiveness in organizations after they are adopted and implemented.

Figure 1. From UW-Madison SMPH EDIB survey.

According to the EDIB survey results, here are some of the practices embraced by SMPH:

SMPH has incorporated DEI standards into merit and performance reviews for staff and faculty.

This policy dilutes and undermines the effectiveness of meritocratic promotions for faculty and staff by including metrics that are based in ideology rather than performance. As a result, faculty and staff are required to promote DEI ideology as a condition for professional advancement, eroding academic freedom and free speech.

SMPH has created senior leadership and support staff roles focused on DEI and diversity-related outreach in the community.

These policies create a permanent woke bureaucracy pushing ideology on faculty, students, and other top administrators. In addition to consuming substantial resources that could otherwise be used for academics, these programs pursue politically motivated activities within the university and the broader community.

SMPH issues statements of support in response to diversity-related situations in the community.

This policy alienates students, faculty, and community members who hold different views from the school on political issues that are otherwise irrelevant to the operations of the medical school. Further, SMPH imperils the reputation of their medical school by publicly reflecting the radical views of a small group of DEI bureaucrats within the institution.

SMPH has developed initiatives and programs dedicated to diversifying its graduate student-body, including fellowships and scholarships for underrepresented demographics.

Under this policy, Wisconsin’s taxpayers are funding programs that disadvantage people of certain racial and ethnic backgrounds. While these programs are separate from race-based admissions policies, they are comparably effective at limiting opportunities for demographics of students who are not chosen as priorities by woke bureaucrats.

Figure 2. From UW-Madison SMPH EDIB survey.

SMPH’s DEI policies warrant concern from the medical community, policymakers, and the public. These practices are increasingly at odds with state legislators, who held a hearing earlier this year to address a bill that would limit certain types of DEI policies in Wisconsin’s institutions of higher learning. In her testimony, a policy expert from the Cicero Institute promoted a national study from the Bipartisan Policy Institute that found that two-thirds of students in the U.S. believe that diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives undermine free speech.

SMPH has moved quickly to adopt and scale its DEI programming, as indicated by its high score on the EDIB survey. While these results might seem daunting for those seeking to roll back DEI, the EDIB survey actually creates a roadmap for reform. One of the most challenging aspects of creating legislation to counteract DEI is the sheer variety of policies that need to be targeted. Surveys like this one identify the specific areas into which DEI has permeated for state leaders. Undoubtedly, diversity surveys like EDIB and DICE promote DEI and pressure institutions to expand their initiatives to maintain alignment with peer institutions. But they also present opportunities for proper transparency and oversight that could prove valuable to policymakers looking to reintegrate meritocracy and rigorous academics into medical schools and other institutions of higher learning.