Commentary

A Federal Civil Rights Investigation is Underway at the University of Delaware

  • By Do No Harm Staff
  • September 6, 2023
  • University of Delaware

The Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has opened a federal civil rights investigation against the University of Delaware (UD) for a program that discriminates on the basis of sex.

Mark Perry, senior fellow at Do No Harm, filed a Title IX complaint with the OCR for the school’s partnership with The Perry Initiative, a pipeline program exclusively for women entering the fields of medicine or engineering. One component of the project is the Perry Outreach Program (POP), which is for female high school students who are interested in orthopedic surgery. POP restricts applicant eligibility to those who “gender-identify as female or non-binary.” By using its resources, facilities, staff, and websites to promote The Perry Initiative, UD violates Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, which prohibits discrimination based on sex and gender identity.

Figure 1. The Perry Outreach Program in orthopedic surgery at the University of Delaware.

The UD Delaware Rehabilitation Institute (DRI) also “proudly sponsors” The Perry Initiative in support of its “mission of advancing the science of physical rehabilitation.”

Figure 2. The UD Delaware Rehabilitation Institute, sponsor of The Perry Initiative.

One of the co-founders and board members of The Perry Initiative is Dr. Jenni Buckley, a mechanical engineer and UD faculty member.

Do No Harm is monitoring the progress of this investigation and anticipates a positive outcome from the Office for Civil Rights. In addition to the Title IX complaint against UD, Do No Harm is also challenging the discriminatory female-only Perry Initiative programs at 14 other colleges and universities.

Are you seeing programs or scholarships at your school that discriminate on the basis of race or sex? Please let us know; you may remain anonymous if you wish.