CUNY gets $19 million from taxpayer-funded NIH for health ‘equity center’
The City University of New York announced on Oct. 29 that its School of Medicine received $19.3 million from the NIH to create The New York Center for Minority Health, Equity and Social Justice.
The City University of New York announced on Oct. 29 that its School of Medicine received $19.3 million from the NIH to create The New York Center for Minority Health, Equity and Social Justice.
The center aims to focus on racial and ethnic health disparities and increase the number of minorities participating in biomedical research, joining the National Institute of Minority Health and Disparities and its Research Centers in Minority Institutions network to “fostering a diverse pool of researchers, and addressing the critical health needs of our community,” according to a CUNY press release.
In addition to the NIH funding that CUNY received, the NIH also has a Faculty Institutional Recruitment for Sustainable Transformation (FIRST) grant that awards “more than $64 million over five years” to “build self-reinforcing communities of scientists committed to diversity and inclusive excellence,” according to the NIH.
The FIRST grant program requires that applicants make a “statement on contribution to diversity,” which “penalizes job candidates for espousing colorblind equality and gives low scores to those who say they intend to ‘treat everyone the same,’ according to The Wall Street Journal.
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In June, Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana wrote to NIH Director Bertagnolli to “express significant concerns about these efforts and ask for clarity on their reach and impact for the hiring of faculty at our nation’s best medical schools.”
“I support having more diverse biomedical research, and I have previously championed bipartisan legislation to support health disparities research and opportunities for researchers from underrepresented populations,” Cassidy wrote.
“However, allowing schools to use taxpayer dollars to support the adoption of ‘woke’ hiring criteria pushed by progressive political activists goes far beyond bipartisan congressional intent,” he continues.
Campus Reform has reached out to the City University of New York and the NIH for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
