Commentary

WVU Has Some Explaining To Do

  • By Do No Harm Staff
  • May 13, 2024
  • West Virginia University

In the wake of the Supreme Court’s ruling which prohibits race-conscious college admissions, is West Virginia University School of Medicine following the law? Maybe. But materials included in an admissions committee training workshop raise serious questions. And the school’s leadership owes applicants, lawmakers, and the public clear answers.

The training slideshow, obtained by Do No Harm through a public records request, offers mixed signals about the school’s understanding of the Court’s decision in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard (2023). In summarizing the decision, a slide first notes that applicants “must be treated based on his or her experiences as an individual – not on the basis of race.” This is, of course, true. However, it goes on to claim that race is considered “as one factor among many, in an effort to assemble a student body that is diverse in ways broader than race.”

Figure 1. From “2023 Committee on Admissions Training Workshop,” WVU School of Medicine.

This language can be traced to a different Supreme Court ruling, Grutter v. Bollinger (2003), the very decision that SFFA explicitly overruled. And that most recent ruling made it clear: Race can’t be a factor in the admissions process at all.

Other slides suggest that the admissions committee understands the Court’s decision and intends to comply with it. For example, the updated diversity policy removes references to race-conscious admissions and instead affirms a focus on selecting “a diverse student body, faculty, and staff, including the socioeconomically disadvantaged rural Appalachian population.”

Figure 2. From “2023 Committee on Admissions Training Workshop,” WVU School of Medicine.

Previously, in 2022, the policy stated that “the School endeavors to select a gender-balanced and diverse student body, faculty, and staff including underrepresented in medicine groups, including those who identify as African-American, Hispanic, and Native American/Pacific Islander.”

Figure 3. From “2023 Committee on Admissions Training Workshop,” WVU School of Medicine.

Hopefully the attribution of a quote from Bollinger to SFFA is an honest mistake and the admissions committee understands that race-conscious admissions are a violation of the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause. Either way, WVU has some explaining to do.