Listen to
The President's Charge

 

 

 

 

 

     

More recently, the Honorable Donna Christian-
Christensen, a physician representing the Virgin Islands in the United States Congress, affirmed Dr. King’s vision: “Health disparities,” she declared bluntly, “are the civil rights issue of the 21st century.”

With such responsibility heaped upon you because of your noble calling, there are important principles you must cling to if you are to remain grounded and maintain proper perspective. A sermon I heard not long ago delivered that message simply, but powerfully:

“Be humble,” the minister counseled, “as you make daily decisions that spell the difference between life and death, always remember you are the created, not the creator!” “You belong to the universe, but you’re not the center of the universe.” “When you enter a room, don’t say here I am … say how can I help you? In other words, seek to serve, rather than to be served.” “Be care-free, but not careless. Learn to manage the inevitable stress that comes with the territory.” “Exercise, meditate, sit beneath the sky and wink back at the stars. And, yes, pray…pray for strength, guidance, and wisdom because each one of you will be tested - relentlessly - every day of your professional life.”

And I would add this to that: as you take your rightful place in today’s global culture, may God richly bless each of you and your families. And always… always honor the Meharry motto: “Worship of God through service to mankind.”

One final personal note: I am eternally grateful that you chose to come here. Perhaps you haven’t heard this as much as you wanted to, but these words are spoken from the heart:

Graduates, if there had been no you, there would be no us. Thank you, sincerely, for bringing such joy into the life of Meharry.

I wish you everlasting peace, prosperity and Godspeed!

  
 

Capital D Drop Capiscovery of new knowledge, high quality patient care and community outreach are but a few of the gifts professional schools such as Meharry give to the larger society. Our grandest gift of all,however, are the students we train - you, the class of 2007. You embody the academic and professional traditions of this College. And by your diligence in continued study, modesty in deportment, fidelity and kindness to others, and your earnest efforts to promote the highest welfare of your community, you will command the respect of the nation.

Therefore, as you leave this institution, you must continue to uphold the principles of honesty, integrity, and compassion. You will work and practice in the knowledge economy and the technological civilization of the 21st century, where everything will be possible and almost nothing will be certain … except that change will be constant and inevitable. Thus, you must retain passion, pride, and joy for your profession and for your work.

Equally as important will be your understanding that the communities you will serve expect that you will take up the mantle of civic leadership. Whether you want to be or not, you will be viewed as community leaders. You must not flinch from that responsibility. Meharry men and women never have!

In fact, the writer Harriet A. Washington, in her book, Medical Apartheid, identified the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., as the visionary who, in 1965, saw clearly the emerging human rights struggle that now beckons you to leadership. Physicians assembled at the “Selma to- Montgomery” voting rights march 42 years ago heard him articulate a then-hidden reality that you are best equipped to address: “Of all the forms of inequality,” he lamented, “injustice in health is the most shocking and the most inhumane.”

  
 
signature of Meharry Medical College President, Dr. Wayne Riley