Dear Students, Faculty, and Staff,
Many members of our school community have expressed that they were deeply disappointed to learn of today’s Supreme Court rulings on race-conscious admissions at colleges and universities. While we are going to carefully review the Court’s decision in the two cases, Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College and Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. University of North Carolina, to understand the implications for our school, it is clear that the Court’s decisions significantly change the ability of schools like ours to consider race as a factor in their review of applicants for admission.
The use of race as one of many factors in the review process has long been an important aspect of higher education admissions, helping to foster an environment that challenges stereotypes, encourages critical thinking, and exposes all students to peers with backgrounds and experiences different from their own. The holistic approach has helped increase the number of admitted applicants from historically excluded backgrounds at institutions of higher learning. The elimination of race-conscious admissions processes will have far-reaching implications for diversity on school campuses, and ultimately, in the American health profession workforce. Our founding mission includes improving the health and well-being of patients and communities, and equity and inclusion are at the core of this work. We must engage and educate more clinicians who are prepared to provide culturally appropriate and responsive care for all of their patients.
Consistent with that mission, we are continually striving to create a fully inclusive and actively anti-racist medical school through our curriculum, our culture, and our community of students, faculty, and staff. We are pleased that about 40% of our student body are from groups historically excluded and underrepresented in medicine. We will continue to work tirelessly within the law to recruit and matriculate students from diverse and historically excluded backgrounds.
Sincerely,
Mark A. Schuster, MD, PhD
Founding Dean and CEO
Lindia Willies-Jacobo, MD
Senior Associate Dean for Admissions and Equity, Inclusion, and Diversity
Lori Carter-Edwards, PhD
Associate Dean for Community Engagement and Government Affairs
