Medical School Takes Down Portraits of ‘Senior Male White Leaders’ in Pledge to ‘Diversity’

Dalhousie Medical School in Nova Scotia, Canada, has taken down the portraits of its former deans for being too old and white.

The school reasoned that the deans were no longer representative of the school’s student body, which includes black and indigenous individuals, according to an announcement from the Dean of Medicine Dr. David Anderson obtained by Do No Harm. Moreover, the school claimed that “students, faculty, and staff” had felt unwelcome in the area in which the portraits were hung.

“While the portraits of previous deans and other historic figures found there represented our history, they also represent that, like many other institutions of our region, our Faculty has been dominated by senior male white leaders,” the announcement read. “This group does not represent our current student body and the diversity of communities our Faculty has a responsibility to serve.”

“After much thought and consultation, we have decided to change the decorum in our Tupper

Building foyer space,” Anderson continued. “As a first step we have taken down the portraits of our former deans and other medical school figures from the space.”

Dalhousie cited its “Strategic Plan” when explaining the reasoning behind its decision. That plan contains a commitment to the “theme” of “equity, diversity, inclusion & accessibility” and pledges to take steps to enroll more black and indigenous students as “equity-deserving groups.”

The plan also pledges to “ensure our spaces are welcoming and supportive for individuals of diverse backgrounds.”

The College of Medicine at Texas A&M University recently made a similar gesture when it removed “the predominantly white male photos of [the] graduating class prominently displayed on the entrance” to the school. The medical school claims it did this to eliminate “noninclusive” imagery.

It is not a slight to the current study body to celebrate the intellectual accomplishments of past deans. Their race has no bearing on their service as stewards of medical education.

Dalhousie should devote “much thought and deliberation” to teaching medicine, and not self-flagellation to signal their ideological commitments.