Dive Brief:
- According to an internal review, the University of Colorado School of Dental Medicine is perceived to have a racist and sexist climate that is especially adverse to black students — a perception that is so strong that it may affect the reputation of the university.
- The university issued a 24-page report showing some items that require immediate attention, including the need to improve the climate for all races, genders, nationalities, social classes, religions, and sexual orientations.
- The school has had 10 black graduates since 1977, compared to 1,600 white graduates.
Dive Insight:
Complaints by students, former students, and professors led to the internal review, initiated in October. The review included interviews with about 40 students, faculty, and staff at the school, plus a survey of 175 students — or about 44% of the total enrollment. Of the people responding to the survey, 20% said the school had a sexist environment, 13% said it was racist, and 12% said it was biased against certain sexual orientations, the Denver Post reported.