The Howard University Board of Trustees has selected President Wayne A. I. Frederick, M.D., MBA to serve as the distinguished Charles R. Drew Endowed Chair of Surgery. Dr. Frederick succeeds the late Dr. LaSalle D. Leffall, Jr. as the second person appointed to the prestigious position.
“It is my distinct pleasure as newly elected board chair to have guided this nomination through our approval process,” said Board Chairman Dr. Laurence C. Morse. “Dr. Frederick has done an outstanding job in his role as university president and he continues to make a difference in the medical arena through his work as a surgical oncologist and mentor to many young physicians training in the College of Medicine. Dr. Frederick’s public stature will also enhance the University’s substantial strength in surgery as well as stimulate retention of highly qualified black surgeons and scholars. We look forward to his continued role of service through this chair appointment.”
Howard U President Dr. Wayne A. I. Frederick Appointed as Charles R. Drew Endowed Chair of Surgery
The Charles R. Drew Endowed Chair of Surgery was established in the Howard University College of Medicine in the early 1990’s as a memorial to one of the most prominent African Americans in medicine, Dr. Charles R. Drew. Dr. Drew was a faculty member and head of the Department of Surgery at Howard University and Chief of Surgery at Freedman’s Hospital, now Howard University Hospital, before his tragic death in a car accident on April 1, 1950 at the age of 46 years old. During the course of his short life, Dr. Drew logged many “firsts.” He attended Columbia University on a Rockefeller Fellowship and was the first African American to earn a doctorate degree from Columbia in 1940, following his award of both Doctor of Medicine and Master of Surgery degrees from McGill University in 1933. Dr. Drew was a medical research pioneer whom history recognizes for his invention of techniques to process and store blood plasma making the establishment of blood banks possible for the first time in the U.S. and Great Britain under his leadership, saving thousands of lives during World War II, and many millions since. Dr. Drew was awarded the NAACP’s Spingarn Medal and was the first African American surgeon selected to serve as an examiner on the American Board of Surgery.
“The family of Dr. Drew takes pride that Dr. Wayne A. I. Frederick, son of Howard University, will now be named as the Charles R. Drew Endowed Chair of Surgery at the Howard University College of Medicine,” said Charlene Drew Jarvis, daughter of Dr. Drew. “My father’s mantra was, ‘Excellence of performance will transcend any artificial barriers created by man.’ Dr. Frederick has displayed that excellence of performance throughout his career and has exhibited an extraordinary reach of his intellect, as did Dr. Drew in his tragically very short life.”
“It is indeed a great honor to be selected as the Charles R. Drew Endowed Chair of Surgery, to follow in the footsteps of my mentor and friend, the late Dr. LaSalle D. Leffall Jr., the first appointee to this chair position who was trained by Dr. Drew, and to keep the legacy of Dr. Drew alive for present and future generations,” said Dr. Frederick. “Like Dr. Drew, Dr. Leffall’s contributions to Howard University and to the medical field at large are unmatched. I am grateful for the trailblazing path they created for surgeons like myself and others to follow. ”
Read the full announcement on Dr. Frederick’s appointment HERE.
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