Hugh Gloster

Morehouse School of Medicine to Host 12th Annual Hugh M. Gloster Society Celebration on April 21

Signature Fundraising Event Will Support Student Scholarships, Honor Health Equity Leaders,
and Showcase Education, Research, and Clinical Innovations.

ATLANTA – APRIL 12, 2022 – Morehouse School of Medicine (MSM) will host the 12th Annual Hugh M. Gloster Society Celebration on Thursday, April 21, 2022, in a hybrid format for both in-person and virtual guests. The institution's signature fundraising event will benefit student scholarships, honor leaders in health care and health equity, and showcase MSM's innovations in education, research, and patient-focused clinical care. This year's event holds even greater significance as MSM celebrates the establishment of its first comprehensive campaign, IMPACT: The World Needs What We Do Best.

"Morehouse School of Medicine is leading the advancement and creation of health equity. We are improving and saving people's lives by making affordability, access, quality, delivery, and equity in health care a reality for everyone," said MSM President and CEO Valerie Montgomery Rice, MD, FACOG. "That work starts with our dedicated students, faculty, and staff members, who are elevating the health and well-being of individuals, communities, countries, and all of humanity. However, Morehouse School of Medicine cannot achieve these goals without the generous support of our benefactors."

Two years into the COVID-19 pandemic, Morehouse School of Medicine's mission is more critical now than it ever has been before. MSM is focused on increasing diversity in the health professional and scientific workforce and addressing primary health care through programs in education, research, and service, with an emphasis on people of color and underserved urban and rural populations in Georgia, the nation, and the world.

Named in honor of the late Dr. Hugh M. Gloster, one of MSM's esteemed founders and a president of Morehouse College, the Gloster Society was established in 2007 to help grow the institution's philanthropic efforts. Since 2015, the Gloster Society Celebration has raised $5.8 million to support life-altering scholarships for MSM students, including $1.32 million in 2018 and $2.17 million in 2019.

"We are so grateful for the generous donors and friends of Morehouse School of Medicine. Their support truly drives our mission forward, directly impacting our students, community, and the world in the name of health equity," said Harvey Green, Senior Vice President of Institutional Development and Advancement. "The Gloster Society Celebration will be a beautiful way to acknowledge their support, celebrate our accomplishments, and envision the future of our comprehensive capital campaign, IMPACT: The World Needs What We Do Best."

Among the awards to be presented at the event is the Louis C. Brown Vanguard Award, named for the late Atlanta internist who was among MSM's founders, which will go to Ted Decker and the Home Depot. The Vanguard Award recognizes a recipient's pioneering spirit, extraordinary vision, exceptional leadership, and uncommon efforts that contribute to the health and well-being of vulnerable individuals and underserved communities.

As the leader in global health equity, Morehouse School of Medicine established the Health Equity IMPACT Awards this year to recognize organizations and individuals for their support of scholarships, partnerships, innovations, and/or community service.

The inaugural Health Equity IMPACT Awards will be presented to:

  • Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Greenwood Initiative, which provided $26.4 million to reduce the medical school debt of Black MD students, ensuring that they could focus on their education instead of struggling with finances, and for their support of MSM’s COVID-19 mobile vaccination unit. Bloomberg Philanthropies first partnered with MSM as part of a $100 million gift to the four historically Black medical schools – the largest-ever individual philanthropic gift received by these medical schools at the time – to help address the connection between Black health and wealth, the dearth of Black doctors in America, and the disproportionate financial burden Black medical students face.
  • CommonSpirit Health, which partnered with MSM to create the More in Common Alliance, a decade-long, $100 million investment to address the underlying causes of health inequities, including under-representation of Black clinicians, through new undergraduate and graduate medical education programs.
  • Goldman Sachs, whose One Million Black Women investment initiative awarded MSM a grant to support the Center for Maternal Health Equity and its efforts to reduce maternal morbidity and mortality, particularly the disproportionate pregnancy-related mortality rate that Black women face in comparison to white women.
  • Novartis and the Novartis US Foundation, who are co-creating programs with Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HCBUs) to increase diversity, equity, and inclusion across the research and development ecosystem, including the creation of three research Centers of Excellence at MSM to address the root causes of systemic disparities in health outcomes.
  • Thermo Fisher Scientific, which created The Just Project and donated $32 million worth of diagnostic instruments, test kits and related supplies, and technical assistance to HBCUs, including MSM, that sought to establish or expand their laboratories and provide regular on-campus COVID-19 testing.
  • Color Health, who continues to provide a fast, accurate COVID-19 testing program to maintain MSM's workforce compliance throughout the pandemic.

An additional Health Equity IMPACT Award will be announced at the Gloster Society Celebration, which will be hosted by Jennifer Bellamy, the Emmy-nominated anchor and reporter of Atlanta's 11Alive News (WXIA-TV). Ms. Bellamy is a graduate of the University of Georgia Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication. She was honored in 2015 with the Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Award, one of journalism's highest honors, for Outstanding Local Television Investigative Reporting.

First established as a two-year medical program at Morehouse College in 1975, Morehouse School of Medicine has been an independent institution since 1981. In addition to its world-renowned Doctor of Medicine program, MSM offers a wide range of health sciences doctorate and master's degrees in public health, biomedical sciences, and physician assistant studies. Many programs are available online or in a hybrid format for distance learners.

To learn more about the MSM Office of Institutional Advancement and the Hugh M. Gloster Society, please click here.

For more information about Morehouse School of Medicine, please visit MSM.edu.

About Morehouse School of Medicine

Founded in 1975, Morehouse School of Medicine (MSM) is among the nation's leading educators of primary care physicians, biomedical scientists, and public health professionals. An independent and private historically Black medical school, MSM was recognized by the Annals of Internal Medicine as the nation's number one medical school in fulfilling a social mission—the creation and advancement of health equity. Morehouse School of Medicine's faculty and alumni are noted for excellence in teaching, research, and public policy, as well as exceptional patient care. MSM is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award doctoral and master's degrees. To learn more about programs and donate today, please visit www.msm.edu or call 404-752-1500.

Contact

Amanda Magdalenski
Morehouse School of Medicine
amagdalenski@msm.edu