Wayne J. Riley, M.D., M.P.H., MBA, FACP
President and CEO, Meharry Medical College

Wayne Joseph Riley, the 10th President and Chief Executive Officer of Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tennessee, began his tenure on January 1, 2007.  Previously, he served as vice-president and vice dean for health affairs and governmental relations and associate professor of medicine at Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) in Houston, Texas.  At Houston’s Ben Taub General Hospital, Baylor’s primary public hospital teaching affiliate, he was assistant chief of medicine and a practicing academic general internist and a resident alumnus of Baylor’s highly regarded internal medicine residency training program.

Meharry’s 10th president brings to his new position a broad range of experience in academic medicine, patient care and administration. At Baylor College of Medicine, he was assistant dean for education (2000-2004); co-chaired BCM’s 2003 Education Mission Strategic Planning Task Force; was oversight director of the BCM pre-clinical curriculum; held memberships on Baylor College of Medicine Admissions, Internal Medicine Intern Selection, Primary Care Internal Medicine and Medical Student Core Clerkship committees; and chaired the Teaching of Anatomy Task Force. Dr. Riley was also assistant director of the Baylor Internal Medicine Consultant’s (BIMC) General Internal Medicine Teaching Service at the Methodist Hospital and director of the Baylor Travel Medicine Service. He was an adjunct professor of management at Rice University’s Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Management (JGSM) and co-faculty director of the BCM/JGSM Certificate in Medical and Healthcare Management program.

In 2003, Dr. Riley began a three-year term as chairman of the Harris County Hospital District Medical Board. In May 2004 he received the Ben Taub General Hospital“Physician of theYear” Award “in recognition of his outstanding professional achievements and dedication to employee-physician relationships through the delivery of patient-centered care.”

In May 2004, Dr. Riley was appointed by BCM president and chief executive officer, Peter G. Traber, M.D., and the Baylor College of Medicine Board of Trustee to the newly-created position of vice president and vice dean for health affairs and governmental relations, becoming one of three physicians on BCM’s seven-member senior management team. As leader of the Office of Health Affairs and Governmental Relations (staff of eight; budget of $1.5 million), Dr. Riley oversaw external affairs; multiple hospital, academic, university and community affiliations; coordinated the college’s local, state and federal governmental relations and initiatives; handled international affairs; spearheaded the development of BCM’s M.D./J.D. joint degree program with the University of Houston Law Center; and established a new Office of Diversity. He was the first African-American corporate officer in the college’s 100-year history and reported directly to the president and chief executive officer.

Prior to pursuing a career in Medicine, Dr. Riley served for five years (1981-1986) in three significant management and policy capacities as a mayoral appointee and close aide and confidant to New Orleans’ late legendary Mayor Ernest N. “Dutch” Morial, rising at the age of 26 to be Executive Assistant to the Mayor for Intergovernmental Relations, the youngest in the city’s history. His areas of responsibility included oversight of the city’s legislative and congressional relations, public affairs, international relations and interactions with the National League of Cities, U.S. Conference of Mayor’s, Democratic National Committee, Democratic Leadership Council, NAACP, Privatization Council and numerous municipal governmental and public policy organizations.  In the final days of Mayor Morial’s term of office, he coordinated transition activities as Director of Mayoral transition.

Since arriving in Nashville, Dr. Riley has become actively involved in several community service organizations.  He was appointed for a three year term as a Director on the Nashville Symphony Association Board of Directors and also serves as a member of the board(s) of Pinnacle Financial Partners, LLC; the Cheekwood Botanical Museum Board of Trust; the Executive Board of Directors of the Middle Tennessee Council Boy Scouts of America; United Way of Metropolitan Nashville; and the Tennessee Institute of Public Health Board of Directors.  In addition, Dr. Riley is a member of the Rotary Club of Nashville; the Loews Vanderbilt Hotel Advisory Council; and the Action on Nashville Steering Committee.  

Dr. Riley spends his leisure time listening to jazz (Ellington, Basie, Coltrane, Marsalis); playing golf; watching spectator sports; reading non-fiction literature, particularly biographies and leadership monographs; performing community service; and spending time with his family. The Riley’s reside in the Nashville community of Forest Hills.