UCLA medical school engaged in racial discrimination: DOJ

A year-long probe into UCLA’s medical school uncovered illegal race-based admissions practices, the federal Department of Justice announced Wednesday.

“UCLA’s admissions process has been focused on racial demographics at the expense of merit and excellence — allowing racial politics to distract the school from the vital work of training great doctors,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon.

The department said it has evidence the David Geffen School of Medicine intentionally selected applicants based on their race. School documents obtained by the department claim that patients receive the best care when treated by a doctor of the same race, the feds said.

On average, admitted black and Hispanic applicants had consistently lower academic qualifications than their white and Asian counterparts, the DOJ said.

“Federal law and the Supreme Court precedent are clear: Race discrimination has no place in our nation’s institutions of higher learning,” said First Assistant United States Attorney Bill Essayli. “The pattern of illegal and odious conduct by UCLA’s medical school is abhorrent to our Constitution and our nation’s founding principles.”

The David Geffen school flatly denied the findings in an issued statement.

“The admissions process at David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA is based on merit and grounded in a rigorous, comprehensive review of each applicant,” the school said. “We are confident in our practices and our mission to maintain access to a high-quality education to all qualified students.”

Dhillon said in the report that the school violated the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2023 ruling that banned the consideration of race in college decisions.

Earlier in the year, the DOJ joined a separate lawsuit by an advocacy group accusing the school of racial bias. The Trump administration has also targeted UCLA with claims of civil rights violations related to antisemitism.

The investigation is the latest of a broader effort by the federal government to root out DEI policies in higher education.

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