David Satcher to Deliver 2020 Convocation Address.
David Satcher, a physician-scientist who served as the 16th surgeon general of the United States from 1998-2002, will deliver the 2020 School of Public Health Convocation Address.
Specific details about the timing and format of Convocation will be announced at a later date.
Satcher is founding director and senior advisor of the Satcher Health Leadership Institute (SHLI), which was established in 2006 at Morehouse School of Medicine (MSM) in Atlanta to develop diverse leaders, advance health system strategies, and promote policies and practices that will eliminate health disparities. He is also the Poussaint-Satcher Chair in Mental Health at MSM.
During his tenure as surgeon general, Satcher also served as the 10th assistant secretary for health in the Department of Health and Human Services from 1998 to 2001, becoming only the second person in history to hold both positions concurrently. From 1993 to 1998, he served as the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Throughout his time in public service, Satcher was committed to eliminating racial and ethnic disparities in health, as well as the stigma of mental health. As surgeon general and assistant secretary for health, he led the development of the Healthy People 2010 report which incorporated a goal to reduce health disparities among minority populations. In 2000, Satcher developed the first surgeon general’s report on mental health.
“Leaders must be good learners, continually learning more about themselves and those they lead,” says Satcher in a message on the SHLI website. “We need leaders who care enough, who know enough, who will do enough, and who will persist in the effort to eliminate disparities in health.”
A native of Alabama, Satcher received a Bachelor of Science from Morehouse College and a combined MD-PhD from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Oh. He has held several other leadership positions in academia and medicine, including president of MSM and director of the school’s National Center for Primary Care, and president of Meharry Medical College. Satcher has received more than 50 honorary degrees and leadership awards, including an honorary Doctor of Law from BU this year.