Harvard Medical School Tries Healing Itself

James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal ^ | July 10, 2026 | David Randall

[karpov]

Harvard Medical School (HMS) has just released the Report of the HMS Open Inquiry Working Group, which contains detailed recommendations for restoring liberty to the school. These recommendations, if put into practice, would institute significant reform at HMS. But that is very important—and even if successful, they would leave vital work undone.

The Working Group was a serious effort. Dean George Daley called on HMS’ emeritus dean Jeffrey S. Flier to chair it—and Flier has an impressive track record of pronouncements in favor of intellectual pluralism. His selection as chair indicated a real commitment to reform.

The Report includes eleven proposals for reform and states outright that higher education should be devoted to the pursuit of truth. It includes a vital corollary: “HMS should articulate general principles and reasonable boundaries for activism by students and faculty”. The Report makes clear that these reforms will require comprehensive administrative action.

In remarkably blunt language, the Report explains what has gone wrong with HMS, describing how HMS has been reshaping itself into an Orwellian dystopia.

Students and faculty may not understand essential habits of mind for open discourse.

Some students see themselves as advocates and activists with a responsibility to educate patients even in the context of clinical encounters.

Some faculty feel uncomfortable in classrooms for fear of offending students or generating complaints through one or another mechanism.

Some see activism as integral to being a physician.

Wherever the Report suggests that something bad should not be done, or that something bad may be done, readers should understand that these have been HMS’ repressive and discriminatory status quo.

At HMS, politicization, repression, and discrimination have been extensive.

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TOPICS: Education; Health/Medicine
KEYWORDS: harvard; medicalschool

[Paladin2]

Too Late.

Bogus training.

[Lopeover]

GTH, Harvard!