I know some people at Tauro in NY and some serious stuff is going down, then i find this letter.
August 13, 2009
Dr. Bernard Lander
27-33 West 23rd Street
NY, NY 10010
Dear Dr. Lander,
The ESMA is appreciative of the response received from the interim Dean at Touro COM, Dr. Robert Goldberg. However, there are serious concerns that the membership of ESMA and the greater Harlem community have regarding your institution which we would like further investigated. Clearly, given the population of Harlem and the mission of our Association, the membership of the ESMA is specifically interested in the numbers of African-Americans when defining minority. Below are the twelve concerns that we have received from multiple reliable sources whom we received complaints from especially in light of the stated mission of your institution:
* Touro COM in Harlem has 0 minority chairs of department.* Touro COM in Harlem has 0 dollars dedicated for scholarships for students with financial needs who desire to become physicians.* Touro COM in Harlem has 0 dollars dedicated for recruitment at historically black colleges.* Touro COM in Harlem has 0 hospital rotations in Harlem or communities like Harlem.* Touro COM has 1 minority administrator/director.* Touro COM in Harlem has 1 full time minority faculty or professor on your faculty. Particularly disturbing are the following :
* Only 2 remaining full time faculty members from an original 13+ remain on staff. The other 11 have resigned or been fired.* In merely two years of existence, Touro COM in Harlem has 2 ACLU complaints regarding discrimination.* Touro COM of Harlem has received >30 accrediting body complaints or concerns regarding academics, the mission, and other concerns regarding the schools operation and overall functioning. We were informed of the following events witnessed by the previous Clinical Dean
who resigned:
After being presented high quality minority faculty for consideration, administration officials stated that "the quality of the candidates is secondary to being able to control them." In response to hiring and other concerns presented to white Touro administrators, minority faculty and staff were advised to "(not) rock the boat, and just do what you are told." In fact, to give the impression that significant numbers of minority faculty were being hired, many minority faculty were offered only adjunct positions instead of full time positions and given very limited hours. Adjunct faculty were not reimbursed for mentoring to students, advising students and participating on various educational committees.
Other faculty members and staff have also complained to us that minority faculty members seeking to make recommendations regarding students, the community or the school's educational curriculum were criticized as "not being a team player" and were threatened to "get with the program and join our point of view or else."
Another top official has been reported saying that the school's Director of Admissions, who is a person of color, needs a "collar around him to control him like an animal."Dr. Goldberg has previously boasted that Touro COM has 19% underrepresented minorities in its student body. Touro COM clearly does not have a student body which is reflective of the nearly 90% Black and Hispanic community members of Harlem. The number of Black and Hispanic Students at Touro COM do not appear to be anywhere near its stated 19% of underrepresented minorities.Dr. Goldberg stated We recruit aggressively to meet our mission, and have notcome across any referrals from the Empire State Medical Association in response to our advertised campaigns. Please note that the Empire State Medical Association has not received any funding from Touro to advertise, contract with,or work with Touro to meet its mission. The Empire State Medical Association has given Touro free publicity with email announcements of the school initial opening, initial announcements for faculty search and students Some of our members completed applications and were never subsequently contacted. Many of our expert physicians are listed on the website at
www.nyesma.org. I coincidentally am one of those individuals whom completed a faculty application and submitted a CV and was never contacted as the status of faculty appointment.Dr. Ron Davis, past-president of the American Medical Association, statedThe medical profession must have diversity in the physician workforce-equivalent to that in the general population
..attaining equality of opportunity in medicine may seem an audacious goal, but is not optional for the medical profession.The current treatment of minority faculty at Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine and a paucity of African American students and Hispanic students based on the above is unacceptable in light of its stated mission. With respect to students please also note that admission should not be based on academic achievement alone, but also on the exhibition of the intellectual,personal and social traits considered most desirable in a doctor of medicine.The Empire State Medical Association feels that the student and faculty at Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine in Harlem should be more reflective of the community in which it is situated.
Sincerely,
Daniel Laroche MD, President, Empire State Medical Association
www.nyesma.org Cc, Dr. Goldberg 230 West 125th Street, NY, NY 10027, ESMA List serve, Open letter
