Vermont Med School Discontinues Racially Discriminatory Program After Do No Harm Complaint

The University of Vermont Larner College of Medicine discontinued its discriminatory Visiting Student Elective Scholarship Program (VSESP) following a Do No Harm federal civil rights complaint filed against the school. 

The program was a four-week clerkship for emergency medicine medical students and included a $2,500 stipend for travel and housing costs. The original eligibility requirements stated that applicants should “describe how you identify as one or more of the Larner College of Medicine’s diversity categories (such as Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino, Native American, Pacific Islander, or low socioeconomic status).” 

In other words, the scholarship effectively excluded students who were white, Asian, Middle Eastern, and from other unfavored racial groups.

Additionally, the scholarship’s description stated that its purpose was to “provide mentorship and networking for fourth-year medical students underrepresented in medicine such as racial and ethnic minorities, LGBTQ-identified or gender nonconforming individuals.”

The requirements, in short, amounted to explicit and unlawful racial discrimination in clear violation of federal civil rights laws.

Do No Harm Senior Fellow Mark J. Perry filed a federal complaint against the university with the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) in November 2023 and sent a copy courtesy of the complaint to several of the university’s leaders, including the General Counsel and President. The complaint alleged the university violated federal civil rights protections under Title VI and Title IX.

By May of 2024, the university had removed the discriminatory eligibility criteria for the program and replaced it with a brief blurb on the program’s selection criteria.

“Successful applicants will be those who are able to demonstrate their commitment to the Larner College of Medicine’s Tenets of Professionalism and how their unique lived experience will advance diversity, equity, and inclusion in medicine and improve health care delivery to underserved areas and populations,” the updated description read.

However, it now appears that the discriminatory program has been discontinued altogether, as the link to the scholarship program has not been active since July. Rather than a specific VSESP program for emergency medicine students, there is now a general scholarship program for all medical students that does not include discriminatory eligibility requirements.

“OCR determined that the University currently advertises VSESP on this website, which does not indicate any restriction or preference based on race, color, national origin, or sexual orientation,” OCR wrote in a letter to Do No Harm.

“Based on this information, OCR has determined that the facts underlying the allegations of race, color, national origin, and sexual orientation discrimination are no longer present and OCR has no evidence that the law is violated,” the letter reads. 

This OCR ruling is a welcome victory for all of the students who have been denied educational opportunities due to the University of Vermont’s unlawful discriminatory eligibility criteria. Moreover, it’s a welcome sign that the University of Vermont realized the error of its ways and took corrective action to comply with federal civil rights laws in response to Do No Harm’s complaint.

Have you been unfairly affected by discriminatory scholarships or programs at your institution, or are you aware of any discrimination at a U.S. medical school? If you or others did not apply because you thought you were ineligible, please let us know – anonymously and securely.