BUZZ
Federal investigation found ‘continued use of race and race-revealing proxies in decisions regarding medical school admissions’
The U.S. Department of Justice received a case Thursday alleging the Duke University School of Medicine discriminates against white and Asian students in its admissions practices.
The case came from the Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights after its investigation of the school.
“HHS Office for Civil Rights has officially referred Duke University School of Medicine to the Department of Justice for violations of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964,” the office wrote Thursday on X.
“OCR’s investigation found continued use of race and race-revealing proxies in decisions regarding medical school admissions,” it stated.
Responding, a university spokesperson expressed frustration with the announcement in a statement to the student newspaper.
“We are disappointed that despite Duke’s cooperation in answering the department’s inquiries and submitting information demonstrating its ongoing compliance, HHS has decided to refer the matter,” the unnamed spokesperson told The Duke Chronicle.
“As we have said before, Duke is committed to complying with the law in a manner that is consistent with our academic mission,” the spokesperson stated.
In September, the HHS Office for Civil Rights determined that the medical school was violating Title VI and the U.S. Supreme Court ruling Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, which banned race-based admissions practices in higher education.
Duke’s School of Medicine “discriminates against white and Asian applicants by using race and race proxies in its admissions practices,” the office wrote in a letter to Dean Mary Klotman at the time.
The letter sought a “voluntary resolution” but also warned that the office would refer the case to the Justice Department if the university did not come to a “satisfactory” agreement.
According to the student newspaper this week: “It is unclear why the Trump administration found Duke’s attempts to respond unsatisfactory. Neither HHS OCR nor the DOJ posted an accompanying press release and neither responded to The Chronicle’s request for comment in time for publication.”
The North Carolina institution also has faced other race-related accusations in the past.
Two years ago, a Duke University Health System emergency medicine physician said he was fired for questioning statements about systemic racism in his employer’s pledge, The College Fix reported at the time.
Meanwhile, the federal government has been conducting a slew of similar investigations into higher education institutions’ admissions practices, including UC Davis’s and UC San Diego’s medical schools. Others accused of discriminating against students based on their race include UC Berkeley Law, George Washington University, and Duke University Law.
MORE: Justice Department says UCSF medical school discriminates against white, Asian students
