Louis W. Sullivan, MD
Morehouse School of Medicine
Born and raised in Georgia during the tumultuous 1930s and 1940s, Louis W. Sullivan, MD, received his BS, magna cum laude, from Morehouse College in 1954, and his MD, cum laude, from the Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM), where he was the only Black student in his medical school class in 1958. Thereafter, Dr. Sullivan quickly established himself as a leading physician and medical educator, rising rapidly through the ranks from early positions at Harvard Medical School, the New Jersey College of Medicine and Dentistry, and BUSM.
Throughout his 40-plus-year career, Dr. Sullivan has proven himself a trailblazer in academic medicine, public service, and national leadership organization, and has become renowned for his efforts to increase diversity in medicine.
In 1968, Dr. Sullivan formed a volunteer committee of 12 BUSM faculty to sponsor a recruitment weekend in Boston to increase the number of Black students entering medical schools in New England, including at Harvard University, Tufts University, Brown University, Dartmouth College, and others. The committee raised $40,000 to pay all expenses for Black students from 24 historically Black colleges and universities to attend the weekend event. As a result, all but one of the participating schools saw a significant increase in the numbers of Black medical students who enrolled the following year.
In 1975, Dr. Sullivan became the founding dean and president of the Morehouse School of Medicine (MSM), the only predominantly Black, four-year medical school established in the United States in the 20th century. There, he led efforts to develop the institution’s mission and strategic plans, hire faculty, create a curriculum, obtain land for campus construction, build teaching and clinical sites, and determine admissions standards and procedures.
In 1977, Dr. Sullivan led the formation of the Association of Minority Health Professions Schools, a national organization formed to advance minority health in collaboration with its members, which includes schools of pharmacy, veterinary, dentistry, and medicine.
In 1989, then-President George H. W. Bush tapped Dr. Sullivan to be U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS). During his tenure, Dr. Sullivan worked to increase racial, ethnic, and gender diversity in the HHS, appointing the first female director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the first female and Hispanic surgeon general, and the first African-American commissioner of the Social Security Administration. He also authorized the creation of the NIH Office of Minority Programs, which became the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities.
After four years leading the HHS, Dr. Sullivan returned to MSM, where he served until his retirement in 2002. For his many efforts, Dr. Sullivan has been awarded numerous accolades and lent his name to the Louis W. Sullivan, MD, Award, which has been given annually since 2020 by the Sullivan Alliance and by the AAMC as of 2022, to individuals who demonstrate through their leadership a commitment to diversifying the health care workforce.