MUSC Earns HEED Award for Diversity Commitment

Contact: Heather Woolwine
843-792-7669
woolwinh@musc.edu

Oct. 16, 2017

CHARLESTON, SC – The Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) has received the 2017 Health Professions Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award from INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine, the oldest and largest diversity-focused publication in higher education. As a recipient of the Health Professions HEED Award — a national honor recognizing U.S. medical, dental, pharmacy, osteopathic, nursing, and allied health schools that demonstrate an outstanding commitment to diversity and inclusion — MUSC will be featured along with 23 other recipients in the December 2017 issue of INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine.

“With the help of many members of our MUSC teams across the enterprise, we submitted a comprehensive HEED award application that detailed an incredible and monumental amount of work and positive outcomes related to our diversity and inclusion journey so far,” said Willette Burnham-Williams, Ph.D., university chief diversity officer at MUSC. “We are honored to be in the company of 23 organizations that have not only answered the call for enhancing diversity and inclusion within our higher education organization – particularly health professions, but that are leading the way for others to follow. We are proud to work in an institution that embraces diversity and inclusion as a strategic imperative and pathway to a brighter future for us all.”

For a comprehensive and in-depth look at what MUSC and MUSC Health have been achieving and implementing in terms of embracing diversity and encouraging inclusion, visit MUSC Diversity.

“The Health Professions HEED Award process consists of a comprehensive and rigorous application that includes questions relating to the recruitment and retention of students and employees — and best practices for both — continued leadership support for diversity, and other aspects of campus diversity and inclusion. We take a holistic approach to reviewing each application in deciding who will be named a HEED Award recipient. Our standards are high, and we look for institutions where diversity and inclusion are woven into the work being accomplished every day across their campus,” said Lenore Pearlstein, publisher of INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine. For more information about the 2017 Health Professions HEED Award, visit Insight Into Diversity.

About MUSC

Founded in 1824 in Charleston, MUSC is the state's only comprehensive academic health system, with a unique mission to preserve and optimize human life in South Carolina through education, research and patient care. Each year, MUSC educates more than 3,200 students in six colleges – Dental Medicine, Graduate Studies, Health Professions, Medicine, Nursing, and Pharmacy – and trains more than 900 residents and fellows in its health system. MUSC brought in more than $300 million in research funds in fiscal year 2023, leading the state overall in research funding. MUSC also leads the state in federal and National Institutes of Health funding. Learn more about our academic programs.

As the health care system of the Medical University of South Carolina, MUSC Health is dedicated to delivering the highest-quality and safest patient care while educating and training generations of outstanding health care providers and leaders to serve the people of South Carolina and beyond. Patient care is provided at 16 hospitals (includes owned or governing interest), with approximately 2,700 beds and four additional hospital locations in development, more than 350 telehealth sites and nearly 750 care locations situated in all regions of South Carolina. In 2023, for the ninth consecutive year, U.S. News & World Report named MUSC Health University Medical Center in Charleston the Number 1 hospital in South Carolina. Learn more about our patient services.

MUSC has a total enterprise annual operating budget of $5.9 billion. The nearly 26,000 MUSC family members include world-class faculty, physicians, specialty providers, scientists, students, affiliates and care team members who deliver groundbreaking education, research, and patient care.