The House Education and Workforce Committee launched an investigation last Monday into recent claims of antisemitism at the University of Illinois College of Medicine in Chicago.
In a letter addressed to Marie Lynn Miranda, chancellor of UIC, and Dr. Mark I. Rosenblatt, dean of the UIC College of Medicine, committee Chairman Tim Walberg (R-MI) included several examples of alleged incidents of hostility toward Jewish students.
“The Committee has become aware that Jewish students are experiencing hostility and fear at the university, and it has not been demonstrated that the university has meaningfully responded to address and mitigate this problem,” Wahlberg wrote.
The letter lists several incidents that have allegedly taken place on campus or over social media, including the removal of flyers and online posts spreading “hateful messages and misinformation.”
Wahlberg also named UI COM’s Director of Student Learning Environment, Tim Lacy, in the letter, writing that the committee is concerned he is not “suited to help UI COM effectively respond to this problem.”
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As described on the UI COM website, Lacy is tasked with monitoring student mistreatment reports and implementing policy, procedures and guidelines to foster a mistreatment-free environment.
“UIC condemns antisemitism, hate and discrimination in all its forms,” wrote Sherri McGinnis Gonzalez, associate vice chancellor of university communications at UIC, in an email to The Daily Illini.
The committee is requesting that the school provide documentation of what it has done to address the alleged issues, including all communication related to reports or complaints of antisemitic acts or incidents on campus.
“We take seriously any allegations of harassment or bias within our campus community,” McGinnis Gonzalez wrote in the email. “The university is committed to fostering an inclusive and respectful environment and will respond to the committee’s questions as requested.”
The letter was one of three sent by the House Committee, with similar letters sent to the University of California, San Francisco and the University of California, Los Angeles Geffen School of Medicine.
Earlier this year, investigations were also launched at other Chicago institutions, DePaul University and Northwestern University.
This investigation pertains to UIC College of Medicine in Chicago, a separate institution from the Carle Illinois College of Medicine in Champaign-Urbana.
