(The Center Square) – A number of schools that teach and train future medical professionals have stated they are reviewing President Donald Trump’s executive order ending DEI programs, while others remained silent when asked for their response to it.
Trump’s Jan. 20 executive order entitled “Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing” calls for “the termination of all discriminatory programs, including illegal DEI and ‘diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility’ (DEIA) mandates, policies, programs, preferences, and activities in the Federal Government, under whatever name they appear.”
When asked how the University of Michigan is responding to the executive order ending DEI and DEIA programs and if it will be ending its DEI and transgender initiatives, school spokeswoman Kay Jarvis told The Center Square that U-M “is carefully reviewing all of the executive orders to understand their implications on the institution and students.”
U-M has a medical school with a student population of majority women, according to its website. The school of medicine also highlighted its 4% makeup of “diverse identities,” meaning “matriculating medical students” who identify as “agender/gender neutral, genderqueer/gender non-conforming, transgender or questioning/unsure.”
Jarvis pointed The Center Square to a regularly updated page concerning U-M’s response to executive orders and how they may affect the school.
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill media relations told The Center Square that it “will comply with all federal and state laws and guidance.”
UNC-Chapel Hill also has a medical school.
“As the Chancellor and Provost noted in a message to campus on Friday, Jan. 25, we are monitoring all new executive orders and directives to determine the impact on our work and our community,” UNC-Chapel Hill media relations said, referring to Chancellor Lee Roberts and Provost J. Christopher Clemens’ message.
“As a reminder, on Sept. 1, UNC-Chapel Hill submitted a report complying with the University of North Carolina System Equality Within the University of North Carolina policy,” UNC-Chapel Hill’s media relations said, referencing a report in which the school outlined its commitment to institutional neutrality and the “realignment” of DEI positions.
Stett Holbrook of the University of California Office of the President strategic communications told The Center Square that UC “is evaluating recent executive orders issued by President Trump and the subsequent agency guidance to understand their potential impact on our communities.”
“This is all the information we have at this time,” Holbrook said.
Both University of California Davis School of Medicine and UCLA referred The Center Square to the University of California Office of the President when reached for comment.
University of California Irvine School of Medicine director of communications & public relations Matt Miller said “we don’t have a comment at this time, possibly later this week or next week as we learn more.”
University of California San Francisco School of Medicine media relations did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
Health sciences director of media relations at the University of Washington Medicine Susan Gregg told The Center Square that UW Medicine is “continuing to provide [its] full spectrum of services.” UW School of Medicine is encapsulated in UW Medicine.
UW Medicine’s Office of Healthcare Equity is still operating, which offers several “pathways” for students to “develop knowledge and skills specifically tailored to working with underserved populations,” such as the Black Health Pathway and the LGBTQ Health Pathway.
“UW Medicine is committed to supporting the clinical care needs and well-being of all our patients, as well as complying with state and federal law,” Gregg said, while also stating that “we are currently in compliance” with the laws.
UW spokesman Victor Balta told The Center Square that UW, itself, is “reviewing the executive order to determine what direct impact it may have on the UW.”
“The order notes that further guidance is forthcoming, therefore the potential effect is not yet clear,” Balta said. “We will continue to closely monitor the situation.”
Clark Pettig of Johns Hopkins University communications told The Center Square that “I’m afraid we aren’t going to have a comment for this piece.”
Case Western Reserve University associate vice president of media relations and communications Bill Lubinger told The Center Square “we won’t have anything, sorry,” when reached for comment.
The Center Square also reached out to Harvard, Stanford, Columbia, Duke, Yale, Penn, Cornell, Northwestern University, the University of Chicago, Boston University, Emory University, Mayo Clinic School of Medicine, and New York University – all of which train medical professionals – and received no comments.
