MEHARRY NAMES NEW PRESIDENT
Dr. Wayne Riley to Lead Venerable Medical College

NASHVILLE – (November 3, 2006) – Meharry Medical College is pleased to announce that Dr. Wayne J. Riley, vice president and vice dean for health affairs and governmental relations at Baylor College of Medicine, has been named its tenth president and CEO effective January 1, 2007, according to Milton H. Jones, Jr., chairman of the board of trustees.

“Meharry Medical College occupies a unique niche among the nation’s academic medical centers and its role in the national health care arena has never been more vital,” said Mr. Jones. "Dr. Riley brings to Meharry a unique background in academic medicine, public health, medical economics and governmental affairs that will raise the impact of its role in an ever-changing world of academic medicine and healthcare. He is a recognized leader in medical education and in the complex business aspects of healthcare and has the vision and energy to assure our continued national leadership in educating health professionals and biomedical scientists.”

Dr. Riley succeeds Dr. John E. Maupin who led Meharry from 1994 through June of 2006 and Dr. Anna Cherrie Epps who has led Meharry as the interim president since June of 2006 after serving in a number of leadership roles since 1994, including acting vice president for academic affairs and as dean of the school of medicine from 1994 to1996 and permanently from 1997 to 2002. Dr. Epps will continue to lead Meharry until December 31, 2006, and then will serve as senior advisor to the president.

“Meharry is very fortunate to have a great leader like Dr. Anna Cherrie Epps who has so effectively led the institution through this period of transition,” added Mr. Jones. ”We are very grateful to her and look forward to her continued leadership during this transition period and her assistance to Dr. Riley as he takes office.” Dr. Riley will lead Meharry during a period of great accomplishment for the institution. Over the past decade, Meharry has improved student performance on national qualifying examinations to the highest level in the College’s history; initiated signature programs in health disparity research; modernized campus facilities; established model long-term partnerships with Metropolitan Nashville General Hospital and Vanderbilt University Medical Center; and successfully completed a $125 million capital campaign.

“I am humbled and honored to accept the presidency of one of the nation’s premier independent academic health science centers,” said Dr. Riley. “As the son of a Meharry graduate, I feel a special sense of connectedness to, and strong support for, Meharry’s unique role and strong legacy of educating and training physicians, dentists, clinical investigators and public health professionals who are imbued with a strong commitment to serving the interests of medically underserved communities. I fervently believe that Meharry is well positioned for even greater achievements based on the outstanding work of its superb students, faculty and graduates across the nation and the world.”

Dr. Riley received his M.D. from the Morehouse School of Medicine in 1993 and completed residency training in internal medicine at Baylor College of Medicine in 1996. He is board certified and a diplomate of both the American Board of Internal Medicine and the National Board of Medical Examiners. He also holds a B.A. degree in anthropology, with a concentration in medical anthropology, from Yale University, a M.P.H. degree in Health Systems Management from the Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, and was awarded an MBA from Rice University’s Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Management.

At Baylor College of Medicine, Dr. Riley is responsible for overseeing the College’s external affairs, multiple hospital, academic, university and community affiliations, coordinating local, state and federal governmental relations and initiatives, and leading the College’s Diversity Council. He was instrumental in the development of Baylor’s Community Economic Development program, the M.D. /J.D. joint degree program with the University of Houston Law Center and serves on the faculty of the Rice’s Jones Graduate School of Management. He is the first African-American corporate officer in Baylor’s one hundred plus year history.

"Meharry Medical College has made an excellent choice in selecting Dr. Riley as their new president and CEO," said Dr. Peter G. Traber, president and CEO of Baylor College of Medicine. "We look forward to the potential opportunities for collaborative programs between Baylor and Meharry."

Dr. Riley, an Associate Professor of Internal Medicine at Baylor and Assistant Chief of Medicine at Houston’s Ben Taub General Hospital, has also served as Baylor’s assistant dean for education from 2000-2004 and as assistant director of the Baylor Internal Medicine Consultant’s General Internal Medicine Teaching Service and as Director of the Baylor Travel Medicine Service. In May 2006, he was elected president of the Baylor Alumni Association, the first residency alumnus to hold this position.

An active member in his community, Dr. Riley is an advisory director and immediate past chairman of the board of directors of Catholic Charities for the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston. He also serves on the boards of Duchesne Academy of the Sacred Heart, the Women’s Fund for Research and Education, the Ensemble Theater and the advisory board of the Ernest N. Morial Asthma, Allergy and Respiratory Disease Center at the LSU Health Sciences Center.

Dr. Riley received the Morehouse School of Medicine’s Distinguished Alumnus Award in 2003 and the National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education Distinguished Alumnus Award in 2006 recognizing outstanding alumni from the nation’s historically black colleges and universities.

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 oversight of 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.

A Native of New Orleans, Dr. Riley is married to Dr. Charlene M. Dewey a fellow physician and Baylor College of Medicine faculty member and they have two daughters, eight-year-old Erin and three-year-old Alexis. His father, the late Dr. Emile Edward Riley, Jr. was a Meharry alumnus from the class of 1960.

Dr. Riley is actively involved in a number of medical professional organizations having served as president of the 6,000 member Texas Academy of Internal Medicine—the Texas Chapter of the American College of Physicians (ACP). In 2005 Dr. Riley was elected to the American College of Physicians’ Board of Governors as Governor-elect for the Texas Southern region of the ACP. He also served on the Institute of Medicine’s Planning Committee – “American Medical Schools and the Physician Supply in the United States.”

For additional information contact:

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.