UPDATE: This piece has been updated to include a statement from medical watchdog group Do No Harm.
Texas A&M University (TAMU) School of Medicine reportedly removed photos of white male alumni in an effort to boost its inclusivity, the Washington Examiner reported.
The school said that it removed photos of “predominantly white male[s] of [the] graduating class” which were displayed at the school’s entrance, according to documents obtained by medical watchdog group Do No Harm through a public records request and provided to the Examiner. TAMU admitted it removed the photos in a survey administered by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) last year, which gauged medical schools’ commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). (RELATED: Major University Medical Center Gets An ‘A’ For Wokeness In Diversity, Equity And Inclusion Survey)
TAMU School of Medicine removed the photos to modify its branding and communication to foster a more inclusive environment, the Examiner reported. It also said that it practices “holistic admissions,” which judges applicants on factors other than test scores and requires search committees undergo DEI training.
A faculty member of color reportedly said that the school over-communicates to the campus community about its DEI policies.
“Texas A&M University is an institution steeped in longstanding tradition and pride in being a truly unique school. The DICE Inventory response regarding the removal of photos admitted that the pictures are part of a ‘historic legacy,'” Do No Harm program manager Laura Morgan told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “The TAMU School of Medicine needs to “emphasize excellence” in its education of future physicians. Aggies and the community they live in do not welcome the destructive ideologies that the AAMC wants medical schools to adopt.”
The University of California, Davis School of Medicine received a nearly perfect rating for how it incorporated DEI into its curriculum, administration and operations. https://t.co/PVSG5ip9nM
— Do No Harm (@donoharm) January 9, 2023
More than 100 medical schools completed the AAMC’s voluntary Diversity, Inclusion, Culture & Equity (DICE) Inventory survey, according to its website. The survey was “a tool designed to assess an institution’s [policies], programs, and practices related to DEI” and provided each school an overall score based on how well they incorporate DEI into its policies and practices.
Do No Harm filed public record requests to obtain the results of the completed surveys and periodically publishes the information on its website.
Texas A&M University School of Medicine and the AAMC did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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