Vanderbilt University Medical Center staff, faculty, students and guests packed 208 Light Hall Monday to honor the life and legacy of the late Civil Rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. The 14th annual lecture, sponsored by the Schools of Medicine and Nursing, featured James Forman Jr., a clinical professor of Law and supervising attorney at Yale Law School.

Throughout his career in medicine, Michael R. DeBaun, M.D., has found moments to fight the status quo. As a medical student at Stanford University, DeBaun, now the J.C. Peterson Professor of Pediatrics and Medicine at Vanderbilt, took up the case of an applicant who he thought had been turned away unfairly.

It has been nearly 50 years since the first black student entered Vanderbilt University School of Medicine (VUSM), and Vanderbilt has come a long way since then. On Sept. 25 the Office of Diversity Affairs commemorated the diversity of its student body, faculty and staff with a plaque and reception to honor past administrators of the office.

Courtney H. Lyder, N.D., Sc.D., dean of the UCLA School of Nursing, is set to deliver the keynote address during the 2014 Martin Luther King Jr. Lecture at Vanderbilt University Medical Center on Monday, Jan. 20. Courtney H. Lyder, N.D., Sc.D. The lecture, entitled “To Dream Again: Lessons From My Mentors,” will be held at noon in 208 Light Hall.

André L. Churchwell, M.D., Associate Dean for Diversity at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, has been promoted to the new position of Senior Associate Dean for Diversity Affairs. Churchwell is also a Professor of Medicine in the Division of Cardiology, professor of Radiology and Radiologic Sciences and professor of Biomedical Engineering.

The 12th annual Levi Watkins Jr. Lecture is scheduled for noon on Tuesday, Oct. 15, in Light Hall, Room 208. Talmadge E. King Jr., the Julius R. Krevans Distinguished Professor of Internal Medicine and chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of California-San Francisco, is the invited speaker. The title of King’s talk is “A Career in Academic Medicine: A Personal Journey.”

Vanderbilt University Medical Center has again been recognized as a leader in LGBT health care equality by the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Healthcare Equality Index (HEI). The Medical Center meets the HEI “Core Four” criteria to meeting the needs of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) community. These include patient non-discrimination policies, visitation policies, employment non-discrimination policies and training in LGBTI patient-centered care.

6/21/2012 - Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s commitment to meeting the needs of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) community has been recognized with certification awarded to the institution by the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) as a Healthcare Equality Index (HEI) “Leader in Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender Healthcare.”

6/21/2012 - George C. Hill, Ph.D., Levi Watkins Jr. Professor and Distinguished Professor of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology and of Medical Education and Administration, will retire in September and will also step down as assistant vice chancellor for Multicultural Affairs and special assistant to the Provost and vice chancellor for Health Affairs. He was recognized as a Professor Emeritus at Vanderbilt University’s May Commencement after a decade of scientific discovery and the promotion of diversity in medicine and the sciences at Vanderbilt.