(WASHINGTON)—The Center for Equal Opportunity has found strong evidence that the University of Maryland School of Medicine awards racial preferences to African-American applicants and released its findings today in a 38-page study.  The authors of the report are two independent consultants, Drs. Robert Lerner and Althea K. Nagai of Rockville, Maryland. "Lowering standards for medical school admission on the basis of race jeopardizes the quality of medical care for all Americans, including minorities," said CEO president Linda Chavez. 

     A press conference releasing the study will be held on Tuesday, April 3, at 11 a.m. in the Edgar Allan Poe Room at the Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore (400 Cathedral Street). 

     An executive summary of the study is attached.  The first part of the report finds strong evidence of substantial discrimination in favor of African-American applicants.  For instance, the relative odds of admission for a black applicant over an equally qualified white applicant favor the former by 21 to 1 in 1999, and were even higher in 1996-1998.  The second part of the study collects evidence of the consequences of this discrimination, concluding that the students who are given preferences in admission tend to perform worse than those who aren't, whether judged by medical-school grades, their performance on the U.S. Medical Licensing Examination, or graduation rates. 

     The data analyzed in the report were obtained from the medical school through freedom-of-information requests and from evidence unsealed in a lawsuit filed against the school, in which an applicant accuses it of racial discrimination (Farmer v. Ramsay, U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland). 

     The study is available on CEO's website, <www.ceousa.org>, and hard copies can be ordered by contacting CEO. 

     This is the first study of medical-school admissions published by CEO.  Over the past several years, CEO has issued similar reports on the use of racial and ethnic preferences in undergraduate admissions in several state systems, one of which was Maryland.  A multistate report released on February 22 included CEO data for schools in California, Colorado, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, Virginia, and Washington state, as well as the service academies at West Point and Annapolis. 

 The Center for Equal Opportunity is a nonprofit research and educational organization based in Washington, D.C.  It focuses on civil rights issues nationwide.