Affirmative action and diversity, equity, and inclusion policies have taken a major blow in the last two years. Two years ago, the Supreme Court declared that affirmative action admissions policies were unconstitutional, and President Donald Trump has threatened punitive action against universities that continue them.
Despite this, the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public health has remained defiant, according to a recently published study by Do No Harm.
The report, which was gathered using Freedom of Information requests, found that black students were ten times as likely to gain admission to the University of Wisconsin’s medical school with the same GPA and MCAT scores.
The university’s discriminatory admissions policy puts them at significant risk of losing federal funding as the National Endowment for the Humanities has already cut grant funding for projects with a racial focus at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
While many universities have tamped down on race-based admissions and defunded their DEI programs, some have remained defiant and become the target of federal investigations. (RELATED: UW System Secures $1.13 Billion in Budget Deal, Then Approves Tuition Hike)
Just this week, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights launched an investigation into Duke University and the Duke Law Journal, alleging that the journal uses race-based preferences when selecting its members.
The investigation reflects a broader trend that has affected programs ranging from medical schools, to law schools, to the sciences. Over $1 billion in grants from the National Science Foundation have been cut since President Trump took office in January, with roughly 90 percent of the cuts involving studies with a DEI component, according to analysis from the Urban Institute. (RELATED: Amid National Debate Over Foreign Nationals in Higher Ed, UW Reports Employing 500 Foreigners)
