Justice Dept. says UCLA medical school discriminated based on race in admissions
by Valerie Richardson · The Washington TimesThe Justice Department said Wednesday that UCLA medical school violated federal law by discriminating based on race in admissions, accusing the university of abiding by the “dubious contention” that patients do better when treated by doctors who share their skin color.
The yearlong investigation into the admissions policies at UCLA’s David Geffen School of Medicine found that the leadership “intentionally selected applicants based on their race,” admitting Black and Hispanic applicants with lower academic qualifications on average than those of White and Asian candidates.
“These facts support the Department’s finding that UCLA violated the law by intentionally discriminating based on race in its admissions selections,” said the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division in a statement.
Specifically, the division found UCLA violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination based on race, color and national origin, as interpreted by the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2023 ruling against race-conscious admissions at Harvard and the University of North Carolina.
Since then, however, the probe said UCLA has used “workarounds” and “racial proxies” to determine the race of applicants as part of its “holistic review” process.
For example, a secondary application asks “whether applicants identify as being part of a marginalized group, with a follow up question about the impact,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon in a Wednesday letter to Debo Adegbile, an attorney representing UCLA.
“By design, this question asks Black and Hispanic applicants to reveal their race so that [the medical school] can know and consider it,” said Ms. Dhillon.
The investigation also found that Black and Hispanic applicants were admitted despite having lower MCAT scores than their White and Asian counterparts.
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“As a result of these practices, highly qualified White, Asian, and other students were denied admission on the basis of their race,” her letter said.
A university spokesperson said the department’s findings are under review while defending the medical school’s admissions practices.
“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,” said the spokesperson in a Wednesday email. “We are confident in our practices and our mission to maintain access to a high-quality education to all qualified students.”
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The spokesperson concluded: “We are carefully reviewing the Department of Justice’s report. The David Geffen School of Medicine is committed to providing equal opportunity to all applicants and fully complying with federal and state laws.”
The findings come with the Trump administration focused on eradicating the racially discriminatory programs and policies in education that flourished during the DEI heyday of the last two decades.
“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 Ms. Dhillon in a statement. “Racism in admissions is both illegal and anti-American, and this Department will not allow it to continue.”
The department cited documents, internal policies and communications showing that “UCLA adheres to the dubious contention that patients receive the best care when treated by a doctor of the same race, rather than by the most qualified.”
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“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 U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli for the Central District of California. “The pattern of illegal and odious conduct by UCLA’s medical school is abhorrent to our Constitution and our nation’s founding principles.”
• Valerie Richardson can be reached at vrichardson@washingtontimes.com.