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Earl B. Higgins Achievement in Diversity Greenberg recognized for commitment by Heather Murphy Public Relations MUSC President Ray Greenberg, M.D., Ph.D., received the Office of Diversity’s 2003 Earl B. Higgins Achievement in Diversity Award.  Every year since 1996, the Office of Diversity has honored a member of the MUSC family for his or her achievements in the pursuit of diversity. The award was established in the honor of the late Earl B. Higgins, the former director of the Office of Minority Affairs. Tom Waldrep, director of the Center for Academic Excellence and the Writing Center at MUSC, nominated Greenberg for his “commitment and appreciation of all people.”  “More than any administrator I know, he applauds the efforts of his own diverse faculty and staff. He is, and no doubt will continue to be, our passionate and eloquent spokesman for diversity in this institution,” Waldrep said. “MUSC should be proud to name him the recipient of the Earl B. Higgins Achievement in Diversity Award.” During the presentation ceremony, students from all six colleges received scholarships from the Office of Diversity, including Phillippi Anquain Sullivan, College of Health Professions; Dawn McNeil, College of Nursing; Gabriel Mufuka and Leeya Pindere, College of Medicine; Seung Y. Yeo, College of Pharmacy and Kareem Sprattling, College of Dental Medicine.  Greenberg’s vision of a centralized “supplemental instruction” program for students with diverse learning styles led to the establishment of the Center for Academic Excellence in 1997, which continues to provide students with additional teaching and/or clarification of lectures presented in classroom settings. Since his arrival at MUSC in 1995 as provost, to his appointment as president in 2000, Greenberg’s efforts include several centers, boards, and committees dedicated to meeting the needs of a diverse population. These include the Center on Aging, the Office of Gender Equity, a committee to monitor and oversee the prevention of sexual harassment, and the recent Spinal Cord Injury Research Board for permanently disabled individuals. In 1998, he helped coordinate a consortium with Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) that eventually led to the current HBCU Program, which prepares African American students for different health professions. Greenberg and his wife, Leah, have been honored in the community for their service and dedication to arts and cultural activities in Charleston and MUSC, and were recently honored by their synagogue in the naming of its foundation for Jewish education, The Ray and Leah Greenberg Education and Endowment Fund. Greenberg is a native of Chapel Hill, N.C. and graduated from the University of North Carolina in 1976 with highest honors in chemistry. He completed his medical studies at Duke University in 1979 and received a master of public health degree from Harvard University in 1980. Greenberg then undertook pediatrics training at Boston Children’s Hospital before returning to North Carolina for a Ph.D. in epidemiology in 1983. He joined Emory University and conducted cancer research until 1990, when he became Emory’s first dean of the School of Public Health. In 1995, Greenberg was recruited to MUSC as vice president for academic affairs and provost. In 2000 he was selected by the board of trustees to succeed James B. Edwards, DMD, as president of MUSC. “Late one afternoon in August in 100-degree weather, well past 5 p.m., Dr. Greenberg strolled down the hall of the Center for Academic Excellence. In tow was a young African American woman whom he had found wandering the Administration building trying to decide if she wished to come to school at MUSC. Ray engaged her in conversation, learned her interests, and walked her over to the CAE to introduce her to the type of academic support she could find at this institution. Dr. Greenberg’s personality is such that students often seek him out, unashamedly asking him for input, guidance, and counseling. Any student who approaches Ray in person or by e-mail knows he or she has reached a considerate ear. He personally answers each e-mail he receives, and having been in academe for more than 35 years, I can sure you this does not happen at other universities. Ray Greenberg is a sensitive educator, scholar, and administrator, committed to celebrating the talents of all his students and faculty at MUSC.” —Tom Waldrep       Catalyst Online is published weekly, updated as needed and improved from time to time by the MUSC Office of Public Relations for the faculty, employees and students of the Medical University of South Carolina. Catalyst Online editor, Kim Draughn, can be reached at 792-4107 or by email, catalyst@musc.edu. Editorial copy can be submitted to Catalyst Online and to The Catalyst in print by fax, 792-6723, or by email to petersnd@musc.edu or catalyst@musc.edu. To place an ad in The Catalyst hardcopy, call Community Press at 849-1778.