Morehouse School of Medicine News September 16, 2016 Kaiser Permanente's $3 Million Grant Helps Prime Georgia's Health Education Pipeline New Undergraduate Academy Announced at Morehouse School of Medicine Contact: Ronna Charles Nu'Man rnuman@msm.edu<mailto:rnuman@msm.edu> 404-752-1717 Thanks to a $3 million grant from health care leader Kaiser Permanente, Morehouse School of Medicine (MSM) has created an undergraduate program designed to help underrepresented students enter graduate-level study in the health and biomedical fields. The Undergraduate Health Sciences Academy at Morehouse School of Medicine was announced today during the school's 32nd fall convocation, white coat and pinning ceremony. "Kaiser Permanente is proud to partner with institutions, such as Morehouse School of Medicine, who share our strong commitment to clinical excellence and our vision for improving health equity," said Dr. Ronald Copeland, senior vice president, Diversity & Inclusion Strategy and Policy, and Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer at Kaiser Permanente. "Partnerships like this are not only key to helping us transform the future of health care and medical education, but help ensure that those who are on the front lines of community health reflect the diversity of our nation's communities." The Undergraduate Health Sciences Academy will provide critical tutoring, mentoring, hands-on research and support for current undergraduate students matriculating at Atlanta University Center Consortium (AUCC) schools, which include Clark Atlanta University, Morehouse College and Spelman College. The overarching goal of the program is to advance and help ensure the success of the next generation of diverse healthcare providers. The Academy will greatly increase the potential of AUCC undergrads to successfully progress to medical school and pursue careers along the "healthcare pathway." The Academy kicks off this fall 2016 semester in response to the growing need for health care professionals in Georgia's underserved urban and rural communities. "The program allows participants who are underrepresented in biomedical sciences to not only collaborate with our faculty and students but to join a community effort to provide culturally-relevant, compassionate care," MSM President and Dean Valerie Montgomery Rice, M.D.<http://www.msm.edu/Administration/office_president/about_the_president.php>, said. "The Academy provides students with advising, mentoring, tutoring, test preparation and guidance so they can become self-regulated learners." AUCC schools are looking forward to partnering with MSM "Morehouse College has a long track record of educating young men that go on to be leaders in the health sciences and so our plans to strengthen and improve on that record are invigorated by this targeted effort of Morehouse School of Medicine in partnership with Kaiser Permanente," Morehouse College President Dr. John Silvanus Wilson Jr. said. "The Morehouse School of Medicine Undergraduate Health Sciences Academy is an important collaboration for the Atlanta University Center that adds additional education, research and training components to our students' toolkit for success as future health professionals," said Spelman College President Dr. Mary Schmidt Campbell. "As an academic institution that graduates a significant number of students each year who major in STEM disciplines, the Academy will serve as an important resource for Spelman." "As Clark Atlanta University is a doctoral research-high research activity institution, the site of the Center for Cancer Research and Therapeutic Development, the Center for Functional Nanoscale Materials and the Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation and several other STEM concerns, the new Undergraduate Health Sciences Academy at Morehouse School of Medicine constitutes an important resource that will significantly buoy the academic experience of our University's STEM students," Clark Atlanta University President Ronald A. Johnson said. "We applaud this partnership as the Academy portends much not only for the AUCC, but for our entire community." This fall, MSM welcomed its largest and most competitive class to date with 151 students recognized at today's convocation, white coat and pinning ceremony held in the Louis W. Sullivan National Center for Primary Care. New students received the symbol of their chosen profession and took their first oath of professional medical ethics. SANDRA M. PHOENIX HBCU Library Alliance Executive Director Atlanta University Center Robert W. Woodruff Library 111 James P. Brawley Drive SW Atlanta, GA 30314 404-978-2118 (office) 404-702-5854 (cell) http://www.hbculibraries.org/ sphoenix@hbculibraries.org<mailto:sphoenix@hbculibraries.org> Honor the ancestors, honor the children. 7th Biennial Membership Meeting: Register here http://hbculibraries.org/2016meeting-form.html for the October 10,11 Membership Meeting in Atlanta Follow us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hbculibraryalliance1/ and Twitter https://twitter.com/HBCULibAlliance Check out "PULSE!" The HBCU Library Alliance's News Source! - https://hbculibraryalliance.wordpress.com/