West Virginia medical school touted its ‘woke’ diversity policies, documents show
Jeremiah Poff
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EXCLUSIVE — The Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine at Marshall University in West Virginia is quite proud of its diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts, according to internal documents reviewed by the Washington Examiner.
The documents, obtained through the Freedom of Information Act by the medical watchdog group Do No Harm and shared with the Washington Examiner, show the Joan Edwards School of Medicine participated in a diversity, equity, and inclusion survey administered by the Association of American Medical Colleges that asked schools if they had implemented “holistic” admissions practices to admit a “diverse” student body.
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Diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives are commonly associated with the critical race theory-linked practice of anti-racism, which says institutions must combat systemic racism through efforts meant to assist people from racial minority groups who have been disadvantaged by systemic racism.
According to their responses to the survey, the medical school said it engaged in several initiatives to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion that included “advocat[ing] for policies and/or legislation at a local, state, or federal level related to its diversity, inclusion, and equity mission.”
The medical school also said it uses collected demographic data to “promote change within the institution” and that it had “admissions policies and practices for encouraging a diverse class of students.”
On its website, the medical school says its office of diversity, equity, and inclusion “is committed to devising strategies and overseeing initiatives within the School of Medicine that will shape worldviews and foster a mind set open to different perspectives, new ideas and innovative solutions.”
“Everyone has a vital role and an important stake in diversity work, whether it is working together to eliminate health disparities or self-educating to become more culturally competent,” the medical school says. “We will continue to collaborate within and across different communities to reduce inequalities and to create an environment that will facilitate the academic achievement of racial and ethnic populations that are underrepresented in the medical profession.”
Dr. Stanley Goldfarb, the board chairman of Do No Harm, told the Washington Examiner that the survey responses from the Marshall University medical school indicated the school had reached 83% compliance with the diversity goals of the Association of American Medical Colleges.
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“This means that at each activity, from faculty and student recruitment to curricular development to faculty promotion, the school favors choosing topics related to diversity or individuals based on skin color or ethnicity rather than rigorous scientific materials or the most deserving individuals based on their academic achievements,” Goldfarb said. “It is sacrificing merit for diversity. It can only lead to a deterioration in the quality of trainees at Marshall University medical school, and it illustrates the need for medical institutions to be responsive to the patients they serve rather than to conform to woke ideology.”
Marshall University did not respond to a request for comment.