Washington University medical school hides DEI office in attempt to subvert federal crackdown
Washington University School of Medicine recently moved its Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion to a floor off-limits to the public.
America First Legal made the discovery, calling it ‘deliberate noncompliance’ with federal restrictions on DEI in public schools.
A major medical school was recently exposed for moving its diversity, equity, and inclusion office in an apparent attempt to avoid detection by the federal government.
Washington University School of Medicine relocated its Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion to a floor inaccessible to the public, according to findings from America First Legal.
The office, which was originally located on the first floor of the North Medical Building, is now located on the restricted-access 12th floor of the Mid Campus Center. The new location is also not part of the university’s public floor plan.
America First Legal posted its findings in a thread on X, which included a legal letter sent to Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon requesting an investigation into the school for potential violations of federal anti-DEI laws and executive orders.
The letter called for a probe into the school’s “systematic, intentional, and ongoing discrimination within its School of Medicine on the basis of race, sex, ethnicity, national origin, and other impermissible, immutable characteristics under the pretext of ‘diversity, equity, and inclusion’ (’DEI’) in open defiance of federal civil rights laws, controlling Supreme Court precedent, and Executive Orders issued by President Donald J. Trump.”
[RELATED: UVA to end DEI practices in agreement reached with Trump administration]
The discovery comes in the wake of the federal government’s crackdown on DEI practices in higher education. The Trump administration noted in an executive order that a school’s funding eligibility could be jeopardized by failing to act in accordance with federal anti-discrimination laws, which the administration interprets DEI practices as violating.
This is not the first time the university’s medical school has run afoul of the law. In 2023, then-Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey called for a moratorium on the school’s Transgender Center for allegedly giving illegal puberty blockers and gender-affirming surgeries to minors, Campus Reform reported.
All relevant parties have been contacted for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
