By Usha Lee McFarling, Photo: Hannah Yoon/STAT, STAT, February 24, 2022
When Quinn Capers IV took over as associate dean of admissions at the Ohio State University College of Medicine in 2009, just 13% of the entering class came from racial and ethnic groups underrepresented in medicine. A Black cardiologist, he thought the school could do better.
Capers launched a series of changes, starting with testing the 140 members of the admissions committee (like the faculty, largely white) for implicit racial or gender biases that might make them judge some applicants more harshly. The study found up to 70% of the committee held such biases, and its members — who read applications, decide whom to interview, and choose which candidates to admit — then underwent training to mitigate those biases.
The following year’s class included 17% of students from underrepresented groups, the school’s most diverse class ever. “I was hoping for it, but I was pleasantly surprised,” said Capers.
Comments (0)