In 1976, the New England Journal of Medicine published an editorial by Professor Bernard Davis. Dr. Davis, Professor of Bacterial Physiology, wrote "Academic Standards in Medical Schools," positing that some minority students accepted to Harvard Medical School did not have qualifications necessary for success. His argument that affirmative action led to substandard students and, therefore, a potential decline in healthcare nationwide, were met with resistance by Harvard Medical School students and faculty.
Dean Robert Ebert put out a statement refuting Dr. Davis’s claims and penned a letter to 118 other medical schools in the country affirming the competency of all HMS graduates, regardless of race, and their commitment to diversity programs. The heads of the Preclinical Departments of Harvard Medical School issued a statement “to dissociate ourselves and our departments from the statements in the recent letter by Dr. Bernard Davis in the New England Journal of Medicine.” The statement was signed by Harold Amos, PhD, Neurobiology and Molecular Genetics; Baruj Benacerraf, MD, Pathology; Elizabeth D. Hay, MD, Anatomy; Manfred L. Karnovsky, Dr. Phil., Biological Chemistry; Irving Goldberg, MD, PhD, Pharmacology; Torsten N. Wiesel, MD, Neurobiology; and Thomas H. Wilson, MD, Dr. Phil., Physiology. HMS Professors Edwin Furshpan and Jonathan R. Beckwith made comments in The Harvard Crimson condemning Dr. Davis’s argument as well. The Third World Caucus, HMS’s minority student organization, organized a protest held on May 18, 1976, where students called on Dr. Davis to apologize for his remarks and for HMS faculty to “relieve him of the responsibility of student evaluation.” Associate Dean of Students Alvin Pouissant spoke at the rally, stating that “Not a single minority-group student here has received an MD degree without completing the full requirements of the Harvard curriculum as designed by the Harvard faculty.” Other faculty in attendance included Leon Eisenberg, professor of psychiatry and former dean of admissions at HMS, and Peter Reich, vice-chairman of the faculty council. The protest attracted over 400 people in total.
Read more in a report from The Harvard Crimson.
