Inclusive Excellence

To the YSM Community:

Today, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) released decisions regarding the consideration of race in undergraduate admissions in the cases of Students for Fair Admissions v. President and Fellows of Harvard College, and Students for Fair Admissions v. University of North Carolina. President Salovey has released a statement on the decisions.

I write now to reaffirm the commitment of Yale School of Medicine (YSM) to diversity and inclusive excellence.

As I wrote to the community in February, at YSM we believe that enrolling talented and hardworking students from diverse backgrounds promotes intellectual creativity and enhances curiosity, compassion, and commitment to the care of all patients.

The YSM admissions committee evaluates candidates using a holistic approach and considers each applicant’s commitment to medicine, maturity, and resilience, as well as measures of academic preparation, such as grades and MCAT scores. This will not change. Even prior to the SCOTUS decisions, the YSM admissions committee has been considering how we can most effectively assess the breadth of experiences of our applicants, while complying with the law. Additional review of the decisions will inform future admissions practices as we work to ensure compliance with the new legal standard announced today.

We will continue to grow our robust career development and outreach programs to ensure that we mentor, sponsor, and attract students who, by virtue of their lived experience, might not believe that an education at YSM is within their reach. Our new director of alumni engagement, Ann Arthur, MD ’90, will be working with our admissions office and alumni to develop new strategies for outreach.

I am grateful for the commitment of our YSM community.

Nancy J. Brown, MD
Jean and David W. Wallace Dean of Medicine
C.N.H. Long Professor of Internal Medicine