The DEI-obsessed medical school dean who called President Donald Trump’s efforts to define male and female an “attack on women” is stepping down from his position as his institution continues to promote radical ideologies.
Jerry Kruse, the dean of Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, recently announced that he would be leaving his position as head of the school in August 2026 after over four decades working at the institution. Over the last few months, Kruse has faced scrutiny over comments pledging to resist the Trump administration’s DEI crackdown and revelations that the school has continued to reject white and Asian applicants with higher test scores in favor of minority candidates.
Kruse, who has been with the school since 1984, said that he was “deeply proud of what we have accomplished together and confident that SIU Medicine will continue to grow and innovate.”
“Our triple aim has always been to provide health care that is effective, efficient and equitable, and I am looking forward to ending with excellence,” he added.
His departure was welcomed by Ian Kingsbury, the director of research for the medical watchdog Do No Harm.
“After aggressively steering Southern Illinois University School of Medicine toward an embrace of a radical woke agenda, it is welcome news that Dean Kruse is stepping down,” Kingsbury said. “From promoting discriminatory scholarships and practicing race-based admissions to publicly flouting President Trump’s executive orders, the school has practically begged for a federal investigation.”
“Hopefully, the former dean’s successor has the courage to clean up the mess of identity politics he will inherit and restore the institution’s integrity. Do No Harm will be watching,” he added.
Back in May, Do No Harm obtained footage of Kruse giving a speech to SIU staff where he laid out the school’s opposition to Trump’s executive orders on DEI and gender. Specifically, he took aim at Trump’s executive order cracking down on radical gender ideology.
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“While the order allegedly attempts to protect women and girls, what it really does is threaten any woman or girl who doesn’t conform to sex based stereotypes and opens them up to invasion of privacy. This is an attack on women, on gender identity, on sexual orientation, and on basic human rights,” Kruse said, according to the footage.
Kruse also promised to fight the Trump administration and wait for the directives to play out in court.
“We will resist obeying in advance. We won’t do any anticipatory obedience,” he said. “The existing laws have not changed, no court directives will require any change in compliance at this time.”
The Southern Illinois University School of Medicine has been issued over $5 million in federal funds this year and received another $6.4 million in 2024.
Currently on its website, SIU promotes multiple scholarship opportunities that are only available on the basis of race or sex. For example, the “Underrepresented Students in Medicine” scholarship is only available for those who are African American, Hispanic/Latino, Native American, Pacific Islander, or from mainland Puerto Rico. There is also the “American Dissertation Scholarship,” which is only available to women.
The school’s office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion also offers multiple gender and racially-based affinity groups, and the school proudly advertises its “minority faculty recruitment plan.”
The University of Illinois System, which oversees the school of medicine, has embedded DEI into its strategic plan.
SIU strategic plan.
“We will be a national model of anti-racism and anti-oppression that promotes diversity, inclusion, and equitable access and opportunity for all individuals,” the system says.
The system was awarded the Leadership in DEI Award at the 2025 Keystone Awards by a Norwegian-based education company.
The Daily Wire previously reported that the school admits black and Hispanic students with lower average MCAT scores and GPAs than the average scores of white and Asian students it rejects despite the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn affirmative action. That report led to a letter from local lawmakers to the school demanding transparency about its admissions processes.
The school also owns and operates a Gender Equity and Transgender Clinic, which offers “gender affirming hormone therapy” and provides referrals for the surgical removal of breasts and other genital surgeries. The clinic’s website inaccurately claims that puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones can be reversed.