Meharry Medical College Celebrates Its 132nd Fall Convocation

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

October 18, 2007

Nashville, TN, Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, M.D., M.B.A., President and CEO of The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, will be the guest speaker at Meharry Medical College’s 132nd convocation ceremony at the Compton-Nelson Auditorium, on Thursday, October 18, at 10.00am.

Held in the fall of each year, Meharry’s convocation opens each new academic year and celebrates the scholarly success of students and faculty.

“It’s a tradition that truly celebrates our heritage as well as our focus on the year ahead,” says Dr. Wayne Riley, President and Chief Executive Officer of Meharry Medical College, who will preside over the convocation ceremony. “Meharry’s mission is to serve the underserved. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is committed to helping the most vulnerable people in our society.  Our missions are aligned, and so we are honored to have Dr. Lavizzo-Mourey as our guest speaker this year.”

A practicing physician with business credentials and hands-on experience in developing national health policy, Dr. Lavizzo-Mourey was drawn to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation by the opportunity to “alter the trajectory and to push society to change for the better.”

A consummate speaker, Dr. Lavizzo-Mourey, along with President Clinton, announced the $20-million expansion of the Healthy Schools Program earlier this year. Discussing the role of philanthropy, she delivered opening remarks at the Re-Imagining Public Health session for the Council on Foundations Annual Conference. She also presented to the 50th Congress of Healthcare Leadership at the Arthur C. Bachmeyer Memorial Address and Luncheon.

“Dr. Risa Lavizzo-Mourey is a national leader in transforming America’s health systems.  We have tremendous respect for her and the work of the Foundation.  HCA’s goals align with those of the Foundation and we are proud to have recently received a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation grant at Del Sol Medical Center in El Paso.  We recognize healthcare needs and priorities vary by community and fully understand the critical role of philanthropy towards improving the health and quality of life throughout our country,” says Jack O. Bovender, Jr, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of HCA.

Dr. Lavizzo-Mourey is the first woman and first African American to be president and chief executive officer of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Before joining the Foundation in 2001, Dr. Lavizzo-Mourey was a leader in academic medicine, government service and geriatrics. She was the Sylvan Eisman Professor of medicine and health care systems and the director of Institute of Aging at the University of Pennsylvania. She was deputy administrator of what is now the Agency for Health Care Research and Quality in Washington, D.C.,. She is also a member of the Institute of Medicine of The National Academies.

The convocation program will include a processional where Meharry faculty, board of trustees and distinguished alumni in full academic regalia, will precede the presentation of academic awards, prizes, merits, scholarships and inductees into honor societies. Recipients will receive Excellence in Teaching awards and the Patterson Memorial United Methodist Church Male Choir will perform.

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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.