DOJ Targets Medical School Admissions
Stanford, Ohio State, UC San Diego face probe on use of race in making decisions
BY DOUGLAS BELKIN AND C. RYAN BARBER
The Trump administration expanded its investigations into the use of race in university admissions, targeting three major medical schools and threatening to withhold federal funding if they don’t comply with a detailed request for information.
In letters sent this week, the administration formally requested seven years of data for admitted medical-school classes at Stanford University, Ohio State University and the University of California San Diego.
The investigation “will focus on possible race discrimination in medical school admissions,” according to a copy of the letter reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. It requests “any documents related to the use or lack of use of race in evaluating applicants.”
Signed by Harmeet Dhillon, head of the Justice Department’s civil rights division, the letter demands schools turn over certain data by April 24 or risk interruptions to federal funding. On Wednesday, Dhillon posted a photo of herself on social media, signing a document and wrote, “Launching a series of civil rights investigations. Another day in paradise!”
Soon after, an editor at Lawfare posted a zoomed-in photo of the letter, showing it was to The Ohio State University College of Medicine.
The request from Dhillon to the schools asks for 46 categories of applicant information for i n c o m i n g classes starting in 2019. The student-specific data schools must turn over includes MCAT (Medical College Admission Test) scores, undergraduate grade-point--averages, citizenship status, extracurricular activities, essays, socio-economic status, legacy treatment and familydonation history. F u r t h e r more, the administration wants GPAs and MCAT scores disaggregated by race and ethnicity, and “an explanation for any deviation between racial and ethnic categories,” according to the letter.
Beyond data for individual students, the administration seeks all internal correspondence related to the use of race or ethnicity and DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion), as well as any correspondence from donors, ethnic medical student organizations (such as the Association of Native American Medical Students) and pharmaceutical companies concerning race and admission.
All three institutions said they had received the letter and were responding appropriately. Representatives for the schools defended their practices. OSU is “fully compliant with all state and federal regulations and legal rulings regarding admissions,” a spokesman said.
The Stanford School of Medicine prohibits “unlawful discrimination on the basis of race, color, national or ethnic origin, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law,” a spokeswoman said.
Meanwhile, a UCSD representative said the school “is committed to fair processes in all of our programs and activities, including admissions, consistent with federal and state and-discrimination laws.”
The inquiry broadens the Justice Department’s scrutiny of university admissions policies into the high stakes world of medical education. Last month, the Justice Department sued Harvard University, alleging it was withholding information necessary for the government to determine whether its admission process unlawfully discriminated.
