WASHINGTON, D.C. – Across the nation, schools that train medical professionals have been evaluating President Donald Trump’s executive order concerning the end of diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, but very few have recent updates on their efforts.
Trump’s Jan. 20 executive order entitled “Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing” announced 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.”
The Center Square previously reported on the responses of schools who train medical professionals toward the executive order, several of which stated they were reviewing the order.
Kay Jarvis, spokeswoman for the University of Michigan, previously told The Center Square that U-M “is carefully reviewing all of the executive orders to understand their implications on the institution and students.”
When reached again, Jarvis provided The Center Square with the following update: “A message was sent Tuesday morning to students, faculty, and staff acknowledging the University of Michigan has received a letter from the Department of Education Office for Civil Rights.”
U-M’s message refers to the Dear Colleague letter sent from the Department of Education (ED) announcing that race-based decisions in education are unlawful and that schools continuing to make such decisions may face loss of federal funding.
In U-M’s message, President Santa Ono said he and university leaders are working to “understand the full impact and implications of the guidance” from ED.
Jarvis referred TCS to U-M’s Key Issues page, a regularly updated page “with information related to federal orders,” as Jarvis said.
University of Washington Medicine spokeswoman Susan Gregg told TCS “we have no new information to share,” when asked if there was any new comment or information from UW School of Medicine.
Gregg previously told The Center Square that UW Medicine is in compliance with all state and federal laws, and that it continues to “provide our full spectrum of services.”
No response was received from the University of Washington itself, when asked if it had any updates. University of Washington spokesman Victor Balta previously told The Center Square that the school was “reviewing the executive order to determine what direct impact it may have on the UW.”
When asked if Johns Hopkins University had any new information following its previous response of no comment, Clark Pettig of the school’s communications told The Center Square that there is, “nothing to share at this point,” and thanked TCS for checking.
The University of California told The Center Square that there is “nothing new to add at this time,” when asked for any updates to its response.
Stett Holbrook of UC Office of the President Strategic Communications previously told The Center Square that UC was “evaluating recent executive orders issued by President Trump and the subsequent agency guidance to understand their potential impact on our communities.”
When reached by The Center Square, Case Western Reserve, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, UC Irvine School of Medicine, Cornell and New York University all remained silent on whether each respective school had any updates on its previous response to Trump’s executive order.
Case Western Reserve, UC Irvine School of Medicine, and NYU each originally stated they had no comment regarding their respective responses to the order, with UC Irvine SOM saying it may have more information “as we learn more.”
UNC-Chapel Hill media relations previously told The Center Square that “we are monitoring all new executive orders and directives to determine the impact on our work and our community” and that the school “will comply with all federal and state laws and guidance.”
A Cornell spokesman told The Center Square that “university leadership continues to evaluate how new executive orders affect our community. As more concrete information becomes available, we will provide guidance on how the executive orders and other directives may impact our programs and community members.”
The following schools did not respond to multiple requests for comment from The Center Square concerning their individual responses to the executive order:
- Harvard
- Stanford
- Columbia
- Duke
- Yale
- Penn
- Northwestern University
- The University of Chicago
- Boston University
- Emory University
- Mayo Clinic School of Medicine
