EXCLUSIVE: Some US Medical Schools May Still Be Promoting DEI Efforts, Watchdog Says

Some U.S. medical schools may be continuing to promote certain diversity, equity and inclusion ideology in some form, according to emails and meeting notes obtained by Do No Harm.

The University of Iowa (UI) announced in March 2025 that it was shuttering its Division of Access, Opportunity, and Diversity following a directive from the Iowa Board of Regents. However, DNH obtained a copy of a March 26, 2025 email from a UI employee via a Freedom of Information Act request suggesting that the university’s Carver College of Medicine (CCOM)’s DEI office was “still fully up and running” under a different name despite the other diversity division closing, the Daily Caller News Foundation first learned.

“Yes, it’s my understanding that the University is closing the Division of Access, Opportunity, and Diversity, effective tomorrow,” per the email obtained by DNH. “Please see the link below for an Iowa Now piece explaining how some of that division’s components are being reassigned or closed, and which components are still under review with future changes pending.”

“Here at CCOM, our Program for Access and Engagement (formerly called the Office of Health Parity, before that the Office of DEI, before that the Office of Cultural Affairs and Diversity Initiatives) is still fully up and running,” the email continued.

Meanwhile, a separate May 27, 2025 email from a CCOM employee obtained by DNH indicates that the school updated one of its offices website description to remove reference to “diversity-related accreditation criteria.”

“With just a month before the state law goes into effect, I’m reviewing sites again,” according to the email. “Since there are fewer accreditation criteria, does the Access and Engagement website description need to be revised? I don’t know and [I am] asking for everyone’s input.”

The CCOM “fosters a welcoming and respectful campus environment while ensuring compliance with state and federal law and diversity-related accreditation criteria,” the email continues. “We build community among learners and prepare students to serve Iowans from every background and life experience. Through comprehensive education and skill development, we empower future healthcare professionals to excel in their careers while meeting the needs of their communities.”

“I think we can remove the part that says ‘diversity-related accreditation criteria,'” another CCOM employee replied in a May 28, 2025 email.

In a separate June 30, 2025 email obtained by DNH discussing planning the University of Iowa’s “didactic calendar,” a CCOM professor said that “when it comes to implicit bias and other diversity-related topics,” the university is “supposed to make sure that the intended audience is aware that attendance is optional.”

“Given changes in legislation and the changing landscape of the ACGME [Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education] and LCME [Liaison Committee on Medical Education], we’re not supposed to be making it mandatory that people attend presentations like this,” the email continues.

In another email from April 9, 2025, a UI employee claimed that the university is “not using the term DEI” due to “complex issues surrounding those terms.”

“Thanks for reaching out. We’re still giving talks and leading discussions on What to Say, implicit bias in health care, etc.,” the email says. “I’ve been told that as long as what I’m discussing is related to improving patient care, I’m good to go. We’re not using the term DEI given the complex issues surrounding those terms at the moment.”

“It is sadly unsurprising that medical schools have been caught merely renaming their DEI offices and continuing to push divisive ideology. Despite state laws, executive orders, and growing public distaste for identity politics, the administrators at many medical schools refuse to do away with DEI once and for all,” DNH Chief Medical Officer Dr. Kurt Miceli told the DCNF in a statement. “Carver College of Medicine is ignoring a clear message from Iowans, as well as credible research that shows race-based discrimination does not improve patient outcomes.”

“Medical schools must be focused on providing future healthcare professionals the highest quality education, not finding new ways to push politics onto physicians in training,” Miceli continued.

President Donald Trump issued a January 2025 executive order seeking to end “illegal discrimination” and restore “merit-based opportunity” across the nation.

Moreover, March 5, 2025 meeting minutes from Rowan University’s Cooper Medicine School’s Office of Engagement and Community Impact (OECI) obtained by the DNH suggest that its Office of Diversity and Community Affairs (ODCA) was simply being renamed in order to comply with the order.

“At Rowan University the DIEC-B office has been closed, with those roles reassigned to various offices,” per the meeting minutes. “CMSRU has worked to bring all website offerings into compliance with the executive order. The ODCA will now be referred to as the OECI – Office of Engagement and Community Impact.”

“Website modifications will be made across all departments. The student organizations may retain their names, and curricular content is also protected. Additionally, it was stated to reevaluate and reimagine the department’s initiatives, particularly the major events concerning URM student[s],” the minutes added.

Cooper Medicine School and CCOM each did not respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.

DNH has previously highlighted a variety of other U.S. medical schools which they claim either have DEI offices or promote “identity politics.”

The Trump administration has been spearheading an effort to eliminate DEI efforts in schools across the U.S. Additionally, the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights announced on July 22 that it was launching new probes into five medical schools across the country for alleged racial discrimination in admissions.