AAMC (Association of American Medical Colleges) President and CEO Darrell G. Kirch, MD, issued the following statement on the Trump administration’s rescission of 2011 guidance on consideration of race in university admissions:
“We are deeply concerned that this signals opposition to the consideration of race as one of many individualized factors in higher education admissions, despite the fact that the Supreme Court has upheld this practice for 40 years, and as recently as 2016.
Medical student diversity is necessary to prepare physicians to provide care to an increasingly diverse population and to address significant health disparities. To prepare a physician workforce for these challenges, many medical schools have determined that it is necessary to include the consideration of race and ethnicity, along with many other factors, in the admissions process. Individualized, holistic review of each applicant—carried out under long-standing Supreme Court precedent—leads to a more engaged student body and to higher-performing students. The AAMC will continue to advocate for the ability of each medical school to make admissions decisions consistent with its mission, and within the Supreme Court’s framework, to advance the health of all.”
The Association of American Medical Colleges is a not-for-profit association dedicated to transforming health care through innovative medical education, cutting-edge patient care, and groundbreaking medical research. Its members are all 154 accredited U.S. and 17 accredited Canadian medical schools; nearly 400 major teaching hospitals and health systems, including 51 Department of Veterans Affairs medical centers; and more than 80 academic societies. Through these institutions and organizations, the AAMC serves the leaders of America’s medical schools and teaching hospitals and their more than 173,000 full-time faculty members, 89,000 medical students, 129,000 resident physicians, and more than 60,000 graduate students and postdoctoral researchers in the biomedical sciences.