DEI By Any Other Name? Kaiser Med School’s Rebrand Leaves ‘Diversity’ Commitments Intact

Like many medical schools over the past several years, the Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine (Kaiser) has undergone a bit of a facelift. 

At some point in the past six months, Kaiser rebranded its Office of Equity, Inclusion, and Diversity to its Office of Inclusive Excellence; indeed, the link to the former office now redirects to the latter.

Yet the actual content of the current webpage still makes clear that Kaiser is committed to DEI, with the maxim “Diversity Unites Us” front and center.

“We believe diversity brings us together. It inspires us to respect the experiences and perspectives of others,” the page reads. “Diversity encompasses much more than culture, race, and religion.”

What’s more, from an archived version of the DEI office’s webpage, the staff members leading both offices are the exact same people.

Nevertheless, there have been some changes. For instance, a 2024 version of the webpage included the statement that “equity, inclusion, and diversity are woven into every aspect of Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine, including pipeline efforts, admissions, staffing, curriculum, student support, and community.”

It’s hard to see how the pursuit of racial diversity could be “woven into” admissions and staffing efforts in a way that would not be discriminatory: any effort to increase the number of students from certain racial groups invariably comes at the expense of other racial groups.

Additionally, resources that cataloged DEI activities at Kaiser are no longer present.

These include an overview of Kaiser’s DEI commitments that includes explicit admissions of racial discrimination.

Here are few highlights:

• “[Kaiser] has embedded anti-racism and related topics throughout its curriculum…”
• “Our commitment to diversity is illustrated in the composition of our student body, which is among the most diverse in the country.”
• “Our approach to student admissions is to evaluate the full experience of each individual, including academic, personal, and other characteristics that contribute to defining the whole person. This approach increases the likelihood of admitting students from diverse backgrounds.”
• “For all recruitment of board members, administrators, faculty, and staff, whether by search firms, human resources professionals, or faculty committees, the school has been intentional in its goal to hire and appoint individuals from a diversity of backgrounds and experiences.”

And there are many, many more examples.

Another resource no longer present on the Office of Inclusive Excellence’s webpage is the school’s 2021 “Anti-Racism and Equity, Inclusion, and Diversity Plan.”

That plan included activities that the school had taken such as:

• “Development of an anti-racism curriculum for students.”
• “Intentional and equitable board, leadership team, faculty, and staff recruitment.”
• “Universal equity, inclusion, and diversity training for faculty, staff, and students.”

Although these resources have since been removed from the school’s website, evidence of racially discriminatory behavior remains.

Indeed, Kaiser’s webpage on its admissions requirements outright says that the school uses a “holistic review” process for the purposes of pursuing diversity.

“However, know that your test scores and coursework will be reviewed in the context of your experiences, milestones, and personal attributes,” the webpage reads. “We believe this holistic review process will not only help us form a multidimensional portrait of each applicant, but also recruit and admit a diverse, inclusive, and highly qualified class.”

Moreover, according to 2024 admissions data reviewed by Do No Harm, Kaiser actually experienced an increase in the number of black and Hispanic matriculants following the Supreme Court’s decision holding that race-conscious admissions were unconstitutional. This is contrary to what one would assume following the implementation of a color-blind admissions regime. This is because black and Hispanic applicants had, on average, lower MCAT scores than their Asian and white counterparts, so one would expect their share of Kaiser’s matriculating students to decrease.

As Do No Harm’s “Skirting SCOTUS” report notes, this “casts serious doubt about adherence to the Court’s ruling against affirmative action.”

So, how should we examine these facts? On one hand, Kaiser has deleted much of the more egregious public-facing examples of its DEI commitments. But on the other hand, many DEI references remain.

And there is data suggesting that, well after the Supreme Court’s ruling, the school is still engaging in race-conscious admissions. 

Taken together, all of this evidence suggests that Kaiser is removing only the most egregious and obnoxious references to DEI ideology while deep down, nothing has changed.