UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION REGION VI

LOUISIANA
OFFICE FOR CIVIL RIGHTS MISSISSIPPI
TEXAS
Renaissance Tower
1201 Elm Street, Suite 1000
Dallas, TX 75270-2102

October 11, 2023

Mark J. Perry, Ph.D.

1159 Ivy Hill Drive
Mendota Heights, Minnesota 55118
Sent via email only to: xxxxxrry@uxxx.xdu

Re: Baylor College of Medicine

OCR Case No. 06222325

Dear Dr. Perry:

The U.S. Department of Education (Department), Office for Civil Rights (OCR), Dallas Office,
is closing your complaint against Baylor College of Medicine (College), Houston, Texas. You
alleged the College, by and through its Center of Excellence in Health Equity, Training and
Research (Center), discriminates on the bases of race, color, and/or national origin by
“operat[ing] the following racially discriminatory programs that illegally exclude and
discriminate against a significant number of medical students and faculty on the basis of their
race, color, and national origin:”
1. The Transformed Post-Baccalaureate Premedical Scholars Program;1
2. The Medical Student Scholars Program;2
3. The Clinical Fellow Scholars Program;3 and
4. The Faculty Scholars Program.4

OCR enforces Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VI), 42 U.S.C. §2000d et seq., and
its implementing regulation at 34 C.F.R. Part 100, which prohibit discrimination on the basis of
race, color, or national origin by recipients of federal financial assistance. Because the College
received Federal financial assistance from the U.S. Department of Education, OCR has authority
under Title VI to process this complaint against the College.

Section 110(d) of OCR’s Case Processing Manual5 (CPM) states that OCR will close or dismiss a
complaint if OCR obtains credible information indicating that the allegation has been resolved

1 https://www.bcm.edu/about-us/diversity-equity-and-inclusion/health-equity/health-equity-training-research-
center/scholars/transformed-post-baccalaureate-premedical-scholars-program (this and the following program links were
initially accessed by OCR on October 24, 2022, but have since been removed or made inoperable by the College)
2 https://www.bcm.edu/about-us/diversity-equity-and-inclusion/health-equity/health-equity-training-research-
center/scholars/medical-students
3 https://www.bcm.edu/about-us/diversity-equity-and-inclusion/health-equity/health-equity-training-research-
center/scholars/clinical-fellows
4 https://www.bcm.edu/about-us/diversity-equity-and-inclusion/health-equity/health-equity-training-research-
center/scholars/faculty
5 A copy of OCR’s CPM may be found here.

The Department of Education’s mission is to promote student achievement and preparation for global competitiveness
by fostering educational excellence and ensuring equal access.

www.ed.gov
Page 2 – Closure Letter, Complainant (06222325)

and there is no systemic allegation. When OCR determines that the facts underlying the
allegation are no longer present and OCR has no evidence that the law is violated, it will
close the complaint.

OCR opened your complaint for investigation on October 16, 2022. On October 3, 2023, the
College informed OCR that the Center, which administered the four (4) subject Programs
(collectively, Programs), is no longer funded or active, and its website and all web pages
referencing or otherwise promoting the Programs have all been removed or made inoperable on
the College’s website. OCR thoroughly reviewed the College’s website to confirm that the
College removed the links from its website. Additionally, OCR did not identify any evidence of
a specific individual who was harmed by the College’s prior offering of the Programs (for which
no applications have been accepted since at least December 15, 2022, due to lack of funding),
who might be entitled to an individualized remedy for such harm.

Accordingly, OCR has obtained credible information that your allegation is resolved. Therefore,
OCR is dismissing your complaint pursuant to §110(d) and will take no further action.

This letter sets forth OCR’s determination in an individual OCR case. This letter is not a formal
statement of OCR policy and should not be relied upon, cited, or construed as such. OCR’s
formal policy statements are approved by a duly authorized OCR official and made available to
the public. You may file a private suit in Federal court whether or not OCR finds a violation.

Please be advised that a recipient may not harass, coerce, intimidate, discriminate, or otherwise
retaliate against an individual because that individual asserts a right or privilege under a law
enforced by OCR or files a complaint, testifies, assists, or participates in a proceeding under a
law enforced by OCR. If this occurs, the individual may file a retaliation complaint with OCR.

Under the Freedom of Information Act, it may be necessary to release this document and related
correspondence and records upon request. If OCR receives such a request, it will seek to protect,
to the extent provided by law, personally identifiable information that, if released, could
reasonably be expected to constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.

If you have any questions regarding this letter, please contact Thomas Stack, Senior Attorney,
at 202-987-1528, or me at 202-453-7578.

Sincerely,

signing for Adriane P. Martin

Supervisory Attorney/Team Leader
OCR Dallas Office