UTHSC 2nd Among Non-Historically Black Med Schools for Graduating African-Americans in 2011
Memphis, Tenn. (May 6, 2013) – In numerology, the number 20 is aligned with the concept of “Universal Service,” or “being of
service to souls who are ailing and in need of help.” The 2011 graduating class from the College of Medicine at the University of Tennessee Health
Science Center (UTHSC), included 20 African-American medical students who are dedicated to spending their professional lives serving others, especially
those who are ill.
Based on data compiled by the Association of American Medical Colleges, those 20 African-American graduates made UTHSC the second highest among
non-historically Black medical schools for graduating African-Americans. During the 2011 academic year, a total of 1,129 African-Americans graduated from
U.S. medical schools.
The 20 African-American graduates represented 14.08% of the 2011 UTHSC College of Medicine graduating class, which had a total of 142 graduates.
In the category of non-predominantly Black colleges and universities, only Duke University ranked higher than UTHSC in 2011, graduating 19
African-Americans (19%) in a class of 100 medical students.
“We are proud to be among the top medical schools educating and graduating African-American physicians,” said David M. Stern, MD, executive dean
for the UTHSC College of Medicine. “Our College of Medicine is committed to recruiting talented, motivated African-American men and women with the drive
and desire to become competent, caring physicians. Matching the complexion and diversity of the physician workforce to the communities we serve is
essential in ameliorating disparities in health care that plague our region and nation.”
The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) is a not-for-profit association representing all 141 accredited U.S. and 17 accredited
Canadian medical schools; nearly 400 major teaching hospitals and health systems, including 51 Department of Veterans Affairs medical centers; and nearly
90 academic and scientific societies. Through these institutions and organizations, the AAMC represents 128,000 faculty members, 75,000 medical students,
and 110,000 resident physicians. Additional information about the AAMC and U.S. medical schools and teaching hospitals is available at
www.aamc.org/newsroom.
As Tennessee’s only public, statewide academic health system, the mission of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC) is to bring
the benefits of the health sciences to the achievement and maintenance of human health, with a focus on the citizens of Tennessee and the region, by
pursuing an integrated program of education, research, clinical care, and public service. Offering a broad range of postgraduate and selected baccalaureate
training opportunities, the main UTHSC campus is located in Memphis and includes six colleges: Allied Health Sciences, Dentistry, Graduate Health Sciences,
Medicine, Nursing and Pharmacy. UTHSC also educates and trains cohorts of medicine, pharmacy and/or allied health students — in addition to medical
residents and fellows — at its major sites in Knoxville, Chattanooga and Nashville. Founded in 1911, during its more than 100 years, UT Health Science
Center has educated and trained more than 56,000 health care professionals in academic settings and health care facilities across the state. For more
information, visit www.uthsc.edu.
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