A Legacy Of Leadership To Be Fulfilled When

Meharry Medical College Inaugurates Its Tenth President

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

October 10, 2007

Nashville, TN, Meharry Medical College will officially install its 10th President, Wayne J. Riley, M.D., M.P.H., MBA, FACP, with a formal investiture ceremony at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center, in the Laura Turner Hall, at 10 am, next Friday, October 19, 2007, announced the Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Milton H. Jones, Jr.  A reception will follow at noon.

The Honorable Karl Dean, Mayor of Nashville, will bring official greetings on behalf of the City.  Other presenters include Congressman Jim Cooper, Peter G. Traber, M.D., President  & CEO of Baylor College of Medicine, Garth Graham, M.D., MPH, Deputy Asst. Secretary, Office of Minority Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Honorable Louis Sullivan, former Secretary, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and Morehouse School of Medicine President Emeritus will formally introduce Dr. Riley during the investiture ceremony.

“Dr. Wayne Riley is a dedicated individual with a tireless work ethic, who in his short time has become one of Nashville’s bridges to becoming a healthier and more culturally aware community,” Mayor Dean said. “Meharry Medical College, with Dr. Riley’s leadership, will flourish in its mission and I look forward to working with him to strengthen our city.”

“I congratulate Meharry Medical College and Dr. Riley on this occasion of his inauguration as the tenth president. Dr. Riley is an exemplary leader who will take Meharry to new heights in academics and community service,” said Dr. Sullivan.

“I think Dr. Riley and his wife Charlene are both splendid additions to Nashville,” says Mrs. Martha Ingram, reflecting the sentiments of one of Music City’s most prominent residents, who have welcomed Dr. Riley and his family since they arrived in January.

The ceremony will include over ninety delegates from across the country including representatives of Dr. Riley’s four alma maters – Yale University, Tulane University, Morehouse School of Medicine and Rice University as well as distinguished faculty and staff from Meharry Medical College.  Participants in the official ceremony will wear full academic regalia.  During the ceremony, a rendition of the original Meharry Charter will be presented to Dr. Riley.  Music will be performed by the Fisk Jubilee Singers, the Reverend Roderick Belin, pastor of Kairos Community Church, and members of the Nashville Symphony.

The Most Reverend David R. Choby D.D., J.C.L., Archbishop for the Catholic Diocese of Nashville, will deliver the Invocation and the Benediction will be given by Reverend Dr. Jerome King Del Pino, General Secretary, General Board of Higher Education and Ministry, United Methodist Church and Member, Meharry Medical College Board of Trustees.

“Meharry Medical College is on an aggressive path and Wayne Riley is the right person to lead this organization.  In the 10 short months as President and CEO, he has led Meharry to make tremendous strides in securing federal funding for the institution, in initiating collaborative discussions with local leaders and organizations, and in raising the awareness of this institution.  This has been accomplished while focusing on ensuring that Meharry’s student experience continues to evolve,” said Jones, Financial Services Executive and Georgia Market President for Bank of America.

“Meharry is a national treasure. My vision for it is expansive.  Meharry graduates serve the underserved across this nation and around the world and I am very proud to be leading an institution that will produce the next generation of healthcare professionals and researchers. This institution is on the move and I am very focused on building upon a strong foundation to support our vital mission,” says Dr. Riley.

Before arriving at Meharry Medical College in Nashville on January 1, 2007, Dr. Riley served the Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) in Houston as vice-president and vice dean for health affairs and governmental relations and associate professor of medicine. At Houston’s Ben Taub General Hospital, he was assistant chief of medicine and a practicing general internist and resident alumnus of Baylor’s highly regarded internal medicine residency training program.  He is board certified and a Diplomate of the American Board of Internal Medicine and the National Board of Medical Examiners, a member of Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society and a distinguished fellow in the American College of Physicians, the nation’s largest medical specialty society encompassing internal medicine and its subspecialties.

Dr. Riley earned the Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree in medical anthropology at Yale University in New Haven, Conn.; the Master of Public Health (M.P.H.) degree in health systems management from the Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine in New Orleans; and the Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) degree from the Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta. In May 2002, he earned the Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.) degree from Rice University’s Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Management’s (JGSM) MBA for Executives program.

Prior to pursuing a career in medicine, Dr. Riley served for five years in key management and policy positions to New Orleans’ late legendary Mayor Ernest N. “Dutch” Morial, including serving as executive assistant to the Mayor for Intergovernmental Relations.  In this position, he was responsible for overseeing the city’s legislative and congressional relations, public affairs, international relations and interactions with the U.S. Conference of Mayors, National League of Cities, and numerous municipal governmental and public policy organizations.

“I have been preparing for this job my whole life,” says Dr. Riley. “As a physician and former government official, I feel well prepared to lead Meharry into a new era. As the son of a Meharry graduate, I feel a special sense of connectedness here. This is an amazingly resilient institution, with a strong history of excellence and service, and it is with integrity and pride that I accept the role of Meharry Medical College’s tenth president. I intend to honor our motto, ‘Worship of God Through Service to Mankind,’ as together we focus on a limitless future.”

“Dr. Wayne J. Riley the tenth president of Meharry Medical College is an eminently qualified and competent individual who has been selected by the board of Meharry Medical College to lead this historical and vital institution into a new and exciting age that will benefit not only our community but this nation.  Dr. Riley has come to Meharry as a true leader capable of obtaining the goals as mandated in 1876 during the founding of Meharry to train young men and women in medicine to truly serve the underserved.,” said Dr. T. B. Boyd, III, President & Chief Executive Officer, R.H. Boyd Publishing Corporation and Member, Board of Trustees, Meharry Medical College.

For further information, including times for interview availability before the ceremony, please contact Stacey Nickens, Publications Manager, Meharry Medical College, (615) 775-8601 or Janet Caldwell, Associate VP, Marketing and Public Relations, Meharry Medical College, (615) 500-0632.

www.mmc.edu

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Meharry Medical College is the nation’s largest private, independent historically black institution 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. Black 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.