SOM Center of Excellence
The Meharry School of Medicine Center of Excellence addresses the need to recruit and train African American students interested in medicine, while recruiting and retaining African American faculty, who are academically involved in innovative medical education and teaching.
About the Center of Excellence
The Bureau of Health Workforce, a component of the Health Resources and Services Administration, gifted Meharry Medical College with a grant to prepare future physicians to be more effective with an increasingly diverse patient population. As a grant recipient, Meharry’s Center of Excellence is charged with meeting the following legislative requirements:
- Increase the competitive applicant pool of underrepresented minorities for health professions school.
- Expand program to enhance underrepresented minority student academic performance.
- Improve recruitment, training and retention of underrepresented faculty.
- Improve information resources and access, curriculum, clinical education and cultural competence as it relates to minority health issues.
- Facilitate faculty and student research on health issues affecting underrepresented minority groups.
- Engage students in practice-based training in community-based settings serving significant numbers of underrepresented minorities.
Student/Faculty Research Program
First-year Meharry students are provided the opportunity to participate in collaborative research efforts with both Meharry faculty and faculty at other institutions. All research applications require prior approval.
Faculty Development Program
There are eight components of the formal faculty development program:
- Mentoring Activities: Pairs senior African-American faculty with junior African-American faculty.
- Small-group Sessions: Provides informal interaction and discussion between junior faculty members, faculty fellows, and others.
- Research Experience: Requires participation in on-going, mentored clinical research project; more than 265 projects are available through the Meharry-Vanderbilt Alliance.
- Interdisciplinary Clinical Research Conference: Provides a bi-weekly forum for Meharry clinical investigators to present on-going work to colleagues, discuss research methodology and implementation, and share new research ideas and funding opportunities.
- Clinical Research Seminars Series: Presents two research projects each month to clinical and basic science faculty from the School of Medicine and School of Dentistry.
- Grant Writing Seminars: Provides junior faculty and faculty fellows in-depth instruction on assembling biomedical research grants. Participants learn about the types of grants, effective preparation of R01 and career development grants, statistical issues in grant preparation, and reviewing grants.
- Medical Writing for Clinical Investigators: Instructs clinical investigators on the medical writing skills required when publishing scientific articles in a peer-reviewed medical journal.
- African-American Faculty Development Conference: Promotes personal and professional development on a national scale, primarily for African-American faculty from all HBCU Center of Excellence grantees; however, and other Centers of Excellence are invited and encouraged to attend.
The conference serves the following objectives:
- Assists participants in identifying their professional development goals
- Explores the requirements for appointment, promotion, and tenure, with regard to advancement
- Examines the influence of personal styles on individual effectiveness, team development, group performance, and the management of professionals
- Identifies and develops personal and professional skills that are pivotal to academic advancement
- Assists participants in identifying and coping with challenges facing URM faculty
- Provides an overview of the grant application processes of the NIH and various foundations
- Identifies the characteristics of award-winning proposals
- Promotes opportunities for networking among African-American faculty in other medical schools
High School ACT Review Program
This seven-week enrichment program is designed for African American/Black, disadvantaged high school students in Metropolitan Nashville and surrounding areas. The program normally occurs during the fall semester, prepares students to take the ACT, and teaches test-taking strategies.
The program is primarily for sophomores and juniors interested in healthcare professions or science careers; however, seniors may participate. Classes are held on Saturdays on the Meharry campus and enrollment is limited to 25 participants. Information is disseminated to counselors at Metropolitan Nashville Davidson County high schools and churches.
Eligibility requirements for the program:
Students must be: a U.S. citizen or permanent resident; complete program application; submit official high school transcript; have a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.75; agree to take the ACT at the end of the program and forward a copy of their score to the program office. Based on the criteria, the Program Coordinator selects the participants and the prospective students/parents receive an acceptance letter and all requisite paperwork (class schedule, consent and release forms).
Disclaimer: This website is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under grant number, D34HP16299-00-10, Center of Excellence Program, award amount $3,177,641 with 0 percent financed with non-governmental sources. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by HRSA, HHS, or the U.S. Government. For more information, please visit HRSA.gov
Administration and Staff
Sonja Harris-Haywood, M.D., MS, MA
Dean
School: Medicine
Phone: 615.327.6310
Email: sharrishaywood@mmc.edu
Billy R. Ballard, DDS, MD, FCAP, FASCP, FAAOMP, ABOMP
Center Program Director
Associate Dean for Continuing Medical Education
Professor, Pathology
School: Medicine
Phone: 615.327.6636
Email: brballard@mmc.edu
Brandon Marshall
Marketing and Communications Director
Office of the Dean
School: Medicine
Phone: 615.327.2987
Email: brandon.marshall@mmc.edu
Mitzy H. Johnson, Ed.D.
Director of Special Programs
Student Academic Affairs
School: Medicine
Phone: 615.327.5966
Email: mjohnson@mmc.edu
Kendra Thompson
Program Manager
School: Medicine
Email: kendra.thompson@mmc.edu