Commentary

Ohio University Scraps a Discriminatory Program Following a Federal Civil Rights Investigation

  • By Do No Harm Staff
  • May 17, 2024
  • Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine

Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine (OUHCOM) has discontinued its Physician Diversity Scholars (PDS) Program (archived page here) as the result of a federal civil rights investigation by the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR).

As we reported last December, OUHCOM was partnering with the Cleveland Clinic to offer the program, which was “open to all underrepresented minority medical students.” The school defined “underrepresented minority” as “Black/African-American, Hispanic/Latino, Native American/Alaskan Native and pacific Islander/Native Hawaiian,” in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Following the complaint (filed by Do No Harm Senior Fellow Mark Perry) and subsequent federal investigation, OUHCOM has discontinued the discriminatory program and replaced it with the Brentwood Foundation Community Physician Scholars Program – free of race-based eligibility criteria.

Figure 1. Landing page of the Brentwood Foundation Community Physician Scholars Program.

“The Scholars Program takes a proactive approach to building diversity by giving students who have experienced socioeconomic, educational, or other disadvantages a unique opportunity for growth and engagement,” the updated program landing page states.

The Cleveland OCR issued an investigation closure notice on May 13, 2024, citing that OUHCOM had discontinued the PDS program and stopped promoting the program on its website, and verified the new program “does not include any eligibility or participation criteria restricted by race or national origin.”