FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact:
March 28, 2008 Stacey Nickens
615.775.8601
Meharry Medical College’s Dr. A. Cherrie Epps Will Receive The Harold Delany Educational Achievement Award From The American Association of Blacks in Higher Education
(Nashville, Tenn.) – The American Association of Blacks in Higher Education (AABHE) will present the Harold Delany Educational Achievement Award to Dr. A. Cherrie Epps, senior advisor to the President and dean emeritus of Meharry Medical College, School of Medicine for her significant contributions to medical education. The award will be given at the AABHE conference in Houston, TX at the Omni Hotel on Friday, April 4, 2008. Dr. Epps will be honored along with world renowned historian, Dr. John Hope Franklin, who will receive the AABHE Lifetime Achievement Award.
“I would like to congratulate Dr. A. Cherrie Epps on this very distinct honor, says Dr. Wayne J. Riley, president and CEO of Meharry Medical College. Dr. Epps’ rich legacy in medical education has benefitted thousands of individuals today and her contributions will continue to impact generations to come.”
The conference will be held during the 40th anniversary of the assassination Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and conference organizers intend to use this historic occasion to examine the current state of institutions of higher education in fulfilling his dreams of excellence and access.
“I am, indeed, so pleased and proud to have the opportunity to share in honoring the memory and acknowledge the accomplishments of Dr. Harold Delaney, a visionary, mentor, scientist, educator and administrator. How privileged I am to join the ranks of such a distinguished group of awardees and outstanding professionals, both past and present, said Dr. A. Cherrie Epps. My selection as the 2008 recipient of the Harold Delaney, Ph.D. Educational Achievement Award during a conference focusing on the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s dream of excellence and access associated with diversity in higher education is truly wonderful, yet humbling. This is an exceptional moment in my career and my life, which I will always treasure”.
Dr. Epps was appointed as full-time, permanent Dean of Meharry Medical College’s School of Medicine on June 1, 1997 and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs in 1998. She resigned as Dean and Vice President for Academic Affairs in June 2002 to serve as Senior Advisor to the President for Academic Affairs and in July 2007 – December 2007 served as Interim President of the College. Dr. Epps has since returned to her duties as Senior Advisor to the President, Accreditation Liaison and Dean Emeritus, School of Medicine and continues to serve as Professor of Internal Medicine.
Since 1954, her innovative approaches to intervention in Medical Education, such as the Comprehensive Medical Review Program (CMRP) and the Medical Education Reinforcement and Enrichment Program (MEdREP) while at Howard and Tulane, has received national and international recognition. Dr. Epps designed the MEdREP “to identify and recruit minority students to pursue health careers, particularly in the field of medicine”. She has authored two books, MEdREP at Tulane, and Medical Education: Responses to a Challenge and devoted the bulk of her life to assisting minority students in their pursuit of medical careers.
More recently, she was presented by the AAMC the 2003 Herbert W. Nickens, M.D. Award in recognizing her outstanding contributions to promoting justice in medical education and health care and in 2005, inducted into the Gamma Chapter of Alpha Omega Alpha.
A native of New Orleans, LA, she received her B.S. Degree in Zoology from Howard University (1951), a M.S. degree in Biological Sciences from Loyola University (1959), and Ph.D. in Zoology from Howard University (1966).
About the Harold Delany Award
Dr. Harold Delany was the executive vice president of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities and a special assistant to the chancellor of the University of Maryland system. His distinguished career included service on the Manhattan Project with the University of Chicago and a research post with E.I. Dupont de Nemours and Company. He held a number of top positions in higher education including interim presidencies at the following: Chicago State University; Maryland’s Bowie State and Frostburg State Universities; and Manhattanville College, New York. In 1994, after the tragic death of Dr. Delany and his wife, Geraldine, the AAHE Black Caucus created an award in recognition of his distinguished accomplishments. The award honors those individuals whose lives and careers have helped to advance issues of access and opportunities for African-Americans in higher education.
About Meharry Medical College
Meharry Medical College is the nation’s largest private, independent, historically black academic health center dedicated solely to educating minority and other health professionals. The College is particularly well known for its uniquely nurturing, highly effective educational programs; emerging preeminence in health disparities research; culturally sensitive, evidence-based health services; and significant contribution to the diversity of the nation’s health professions workforce. Diverse Issues in Higher Education’s ranking of institutions annually lists Meharry as a leading national educator of African Americans with M.D. and D.D.S. degrees, and Ph.D. degrees in the biomedical sciences.
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