MUSC Receives 2018 Health Professions Higher Education Excellence in Diversity Award

Contact: Sheila Champlin                     
843-792-2691
champlin@musc.edu 

October 18, 2018

CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Medical University of South Carolina was recently designated as one of the 2018 Health Professions Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award recipients from INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine, the oldest and largest diversity publication in higher education. The Health Professions HEED Award is the only national honor recognizing U.S. medical, dental, pharmacy, osteopathic, nursing, veterinary, allied health, and other health schools and centers that demonstrate an outstanding commitment to diversity and inclusion across their campuses. This is the second consecutive year that MUSC earned a place among the HEED honorees. INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine announced only 35 organizations across the country received the 2018 HEED Award. 

"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," said Lenore Pearlstein, co-publisher of INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine. 

“MUSC has made a commitment to be an exemplary academic health sciences center, which means creating an environment where everyone is valued,” said Willette Burnham-Williams, Ph.D., MUSC chief diversity officer.  “Hundreds of diverse teams work tirelessly daily to this end. On behalf of those teams and the entire MUSC family we are honored and proud to be recognized as a HEED award recipient for the second consecutive year."

"As we continue to see a record number of Health Professions HEED Award applicants each year, nearly every school tells us they use the application itself as a tool to create new programs and to benchmark their accomplishments across campus,” Pearlstein said. “The process allows them to reflect on their successes and also determine where more work needs to be done. We also continue to raise the standards in selecting Health Professions HEED institutions."

About MUSC

Founded in 1824 in Charleston, The Medical University of South Carolina is the oldest medical school in the South. Today, MUSC continues the tradition of excellence in education, research, and patient care. MUSC educates and trains more than 3,000 students and 750 residents in six colleges (Dental Medicine, Graduate Studies, Health Professions, Medicine, Nursing, and Pharmacy), and has nearly 14,000 employees, including approximately 1,500 faculty members. As the largest non-federal employer in Charleston, the university and its affiliates have collective annual budgets in excess of $2.6 billion, with an annual economic impact of more than $3.8 billion and annual research funding in excess of $250 million. MUSC operates a 700-bed medical center, which includes a nationally recognized Children's Hospital, the Ashley River Tower (cardiovascular, digestive disease, and surgical oncology), Hollings Cancer Center (a National Cancer Institute-designated center), Level I Trauma Center, Institute of Psychiatry, and the state’s only transplant center. In 2018, for the fourth consecutive year, U.S. News & World Report named MUSC Health the number one hospital in South Carolina. For more information on academic programs or clinical services, visit education.musc.edu. For more information on hospital patient services, visit muschealth.org.