Thirty years of affirmative action at Harvard Medical School: A mixed-method program evaluation

This research explores the affirmative action program of Harvard Medical School (HMS). Using a mixed-method approach, guided by social program evaluation theory, the following areas were explored: (1) Elements of the HMS Affirmative Action Program; (2) Quality and Effectiveness of Program compared to its original goals; (3) Meaning, Utility, Range of Views about Alumni's HMS Experience; (4) National Policy Implications to be drawn from this study.;The research data was derived from: (1) a census survey of 680 minority graduates of HMS; (2) an analysis of the perceptions of eight graduates; and (3) an interpretation of eleven interviews with faculty and administrators instrumental in the initiation, design and implementation of the program.;The elements of the HMS affirmative action program were identified, changes over the duration of the study were tracked, and the positive and negative influences on participants were analyzed.;National policy implications that can be drawn from this study are: (1) A small group of committed individuals can change an institution. (2) Legal policies or practices should not be changed or altered in anticipation of changes in the law. (3) The practice of affirmative action ensures that minority physicians, if given access to education in elite institutions, can and will assume leadership roles. (4) Conflicting perspectives that surface when the student body is multi-racial add a dimension to the educational environment that provides life-long educational benefits to the professional and, in the case of physicians, to the patients whom these professionals serve. (5) Program goals that are diametrically in opposition to the institutional goals usually give way to the institutional goal. (6) Successful affirmative action program initiatives can influence institutional change. (7) Providing minority students access to elite medical schools, whether or not those students are economically disadvantaged, helps to change the racial and ethnic background of the leaders in medicine and has proven to be a positive outcome of affirmative action.