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Dr. John Raymond
‘Wisconsin's gain is our loss’
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 John R.
Raymond, M.D., arrived on MUSC's campus in 1996 and has served as vice
president for the Office of Academic Affairs and Provost since 2001.
During this period, he has been a tireless advocate, clinician,
scientist, educator, leader and friend. To honor him, MUSC and UMA
announced the creation of the John R. Raymond Scholarship benefitting
students. The MUSC Women Scholars Initiative also created separate
mentor and fellowship awards in his name. As of July 1, Raymond will
assume the office as president and CEO of the Medical College of
Wisconsin, becoming the college's sixth president.
"John has provided life-changing opportunities for faculty, staff and
students. His good works do not leave with him—his vision, caring, and
generosity will continue to have a wonderful impact upon our lives for
years to come." —Mary
Mauldin, Ed.D., Associate Professor and Director, Center for Academic
and Research Computing
"Dr. Raymond joined our program as the first Dialysis Clinics Inc
Research Professor of Nephrology in 1995. Little did we know the
impact that his presence would have on our program and on each of us
during the ensuing years he has been here with us. He has been a
“most valuable player” in our group for years and helped the program
develop from the infantile state at the time of his arrival to the
robust research and clinical enterprise it is today. It would take a
long list to enumerate his many and direct contributions to Nephrology,
to our faculty and to our many trainees during his time here. We could
simply not have done it without him." —David W. Ploth,
M.D., Department of Nephrology
"My lasting impression of John will be his steadfast integrity, his
impeccable sense of fairness and equity, and his unwavering commitment
to diversity for all. John never took the easy path...however, he
always took the right path." —Jim Fisher, MUSC
Office of Development
"We have Dr. Raymond to thank for the very existence of the MUSC Women
Scholars Initiative. A number of years ago, he tapped senior women
faculty at MUSC to launch a program that would advance the careers of
women faculty. From that, our program has evolved to both enhance the
professional development of women faculty at MUSC and provide direction
to administrators on the status of women faculty at MUSC, with the
long-term goal of advancing the careers of women faculty here.
Throughout this evolution, Dr. Raymond has continually been our
program’s stalwart supporter. With the creation of the MUSC Women
Scholars Initiative, Dr. Raymond sought to put critical tools in the
hands of women faculty – tools they could employ to create their own
paths to success. Consistent with that idea and in gratitude for his
efforts, we are establishing the John R. Raymond Fellowship to provide
support for women faculty to build collaborations with high-level
experts in their field. Specifically, we will provide an annual award
to a woman faculty member at MUSC to assist with travel for a renowned
expert who could be a potential collaborator in advancing the woman
faculty member’s career goals. The renowned expert also will be given
the John R. Raymond Mentor Award from the MUSC Women Scholars
Initiative. The fellowship will be available to MUSC women faculty of
any rank and for collaboration building across all aspects of the MUSC
mission, including education, clinical care, or research. In addition,
we will hold an annual John R. Raymond reception to honor the
fellowship recipient, as well as to provide an opportunity for the
recipient and other MUSC women faculty to network with one another. You
can see that we have much to thank him for. The MUSC Women Scholars
Initiative looks forward to providing Dr. Raymond with future updates
of our successes and will deeply miss him.” —Ashli J. Sheidow,
Ph.D., Associate Professor of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences,
Family Services Research Center
"While we all know about the extraordinary contributions that John has
made during his tenure at MUSC, his dedication to serving the veteran
population at the local VAMC should also be remembered. Before becoming
provost, he directed the research program for the local VA Medical
Center, and he remained an avid supporter of the VA research community
after assuming his position as provost. Despite his MUSC administrative
roles, he remained committed to the Veterans, acting as both an active
clinician and investigator at the Charleston VA." —M. Rita I. Young,
Ph.D., Associate Chief of Staff for Research at the Ralph H. Johnson VA
Medical Center and Professor of Otolaryngology and of Medicine, MUSC
"It has been my privilege to work with Dr. Raymond during his tenure at
MUSC. I have never met a more dedicated, compassionate, and hard
working individual. The Medical College of Wisconsin’s gain in our big
loss. We all wish him continued success." —Joseph C. Good,
Jr., MUSC General Counsel
"John Raymond has worked tirelessly to improve all of MUSC. As
chair of the College of Medicine Research Advisory Committee before
becoming provost he labored as long and hard to help all the
investigators in the College succeed. As provost he has been a
great partner in the efforts to enhance research not only in the
College of Medicine, but the University and the State. We are
enormously grateful to him and will miss his friendship and
leadership.” —Jerry
Reves, M.D., College of Medicine dean
"Dr. Raymond is excellence personified. His dedication, ethics,
compassion, and reasoned decision-making set the standard for faculty
and administration here at MUSC. He leaves behind a rich legacy for us
all." —Gail
Stuart, Ph.D., R.N., College of Nursing dean
"Dr. John Raymond is a physician, a scholar and a gentleman of great
integrity. The Department of Medicine will greatly miss his outstanding
and indefatigable efforts in clinical medicine, scientific research,
faculty and fellow mentoring, and his optimistic can-do approach!" —Jack Feussner, M.D.,
Chairman, Department of Medicine
"Dr. Raymond was an outstanding provost. He moved the university
to the highest level of achievement in its history. He was an
outstanding administrator, scientist, clinician and educator. I will
miss him dearly. He was an outstanding individual to work for." —Perry V. Halushka,
M.D., Ph.D., College of Graduate Studies dean
"I am very grateful to Dr. Raymond for two important visions he brought
to MUSC. First, he established the Women Scholars Initiative, a
campus-wide organization dedicated to making MUSC a top choice for
women faculty. Second, he established the Trustees’ Leadership Academy,
which is a year-long program aimed at developing MUSC’s future leaders.
Each of these programs have greatly enriched my experience as a junior
faculty member at MUSC, and neither of them would have been possible
without Dr. Raymond’s dedication, vision, and leadership. MUSC will
continue to benefit from Dr. Raymond’s leadership for many years to
come." —Lisa L.
Cunningham, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Coordinator of Graduate
Studies, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine
"Dr. Raymond gave wonderful motivational speeches whenever he addressed
our Women Scholars Initiative group. His words eventually became
precocious quotes and personalized notes that he would send to us
whenever we achieved something. We feel that Dr. Raymond is so close to
us, watching what we are doing, and very proud of our achievements as
soon as they would happen. His honesty, transparency and dedication
made him a role model to us all." —Samar M. Hammad,
Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Regenerative Medicine and
Cell Biology
"As a researcher and now as President of the Faculty Senate, it has
always been a privilege to work with John. Throughout his tenure as
Provost, he has been a tireless advocate for both the institution and
its faculty, and his outstanding record speaks for itself. His
calm assurance and good humor in sometimes difficult times has been an
exemplar to us all. He will be sorely missed, but we wish him well in
his exciting new venture." —Christopher Davies,
Ph.D., President, Faculty Senate
 "Dr. Raymond
was a pillar of this university, his leadership has helped MUSC grow
into one of the nations great universities and hospitals. His
dedication and commitment were second to none, but what we will miss
most of all is his compassion and love for MUSC." —Tyler Pierce,
President MUSC SGA, College of Medicine
"John and I worked in similar areas of research and were aware of each
other’s work, but had never had the opportunity to meet in person until
he came to MUSC. I remember John calling me sometime around the
mid-1990s to inquire about an opportunity for him to move to MUSC. He
asked for my personal and professional perspective about MUSC as an
academic medical institution. I remember telling him that MUSC
possessed pockets of excellence in its research programs and the
university had committed to growth of its research programs. I also
commented that there were lots of overlap in several areas that would
interest him. I said that if he took the position, he’d have a chance
to make a significant impact. Little did I realize what an
understatement that was at the time given after all that he has
achieved here at MUSC! Never have I seen a more effective voice for
advocacy than in John Raymond—advocacy for the family, his colleagues,
the community, the MUSC faculty, staff and students, plus the broader
research ecosystem. Time will tell but one of his many lasting
contributions to MUSC will be his leadership in establishing almost
two-dozen Centers of Economic Excellence, all of which come with more
than $2 to 5 million endowment from the state that will pay dividends
for years to come. The Medical College of Wisconsin is very fortunate
to recruit him as I am sure he will make even greater contributions
there as the new president." —Stephen M. Lanier,
Ph.D., Associate Provost for Research
"John Raymond is an exceptional individual. He is kind, thoughtful,
fair, smart and tireless. He is a superb teacher and mentor. John
embodies all that is good in academic medicine and science. He will be
a great leader for the Medical College of Wisconsin, and MUSC will miss
him very much." —Peggy
Schachte
Office
of Research Development director
"Dr. John Raymond is an outstanding mentor who promotes excellence in
scientific research. He is a brilliant individual who is not only known
for his success in mentoring young scientists but is also known for his
unique ability to understand the important implications between
research in basic science and clinical medicine." —Sonya Coaxum, Ph.D.,
Division of Nephrology
 Dr. John Raymond
participates in the Oct. 3, 2008, groundbreaking ceremony for the Drug
Discovery Building. From left are Raymond, Drs. Andrew Kraft, Rick
Schnellman, Ray Greenberg and Charles Thomas.
"The MUSC Trustees Leadership Academy is a yearlong program designed to
provide formal leadership training for MUSC faculty and staff. Its
purpose is to enrich skills and cultivate future leaders for MUSC by
involving classroom training, a development of a project to enhance the
university and an opportunity to participate in an external capstone
leadership program. John Raymond provided leadership for program and
funding. Together, John and leadership academy director Russ Nazzaro,
led the program over a three-year span (2006-09). Since then, the
program has graduated 62 fellows. During this time, John took a
personal interest in the careers of all academy graduates. Even with
his extremely busy schedule, one could tell John cared about each one
of us. Together with Russ, they helped the fellows design their
programs and mentored them on the choice of a capstone experience.
Today, academy graduates are seen all across the university in many
major initiatives, committees, C3 work, MUSC Excellence and 2010-2015
MUSC Strategic Plans. A number of graduates have accepted new positions
of administrative responsibility and are now shaping the future of our
university. John also served as a role model for us in the academy. His
quiet demeanor, sincere compassion for others and strong and effective
leadership skills showed us how it was done. He worked very hard,
probably spending a little too many hours in the office, but his work
has impacted all of us. We can count ourselves very lucky to have known
and worked with such a great leader. We are very thankful for John’s
leadership and development of the Trustees Leadership Academy and wish
him the best in his exciting new position. He will be greatly missed by
all of us." —Elizabeth
Pilcher, DMD, MUSC Trustees Leadership Academy
"Dr. Raymond, my job could have been very difficult when I came to MUSC
in April 2006, but because of your leadership and support my colleagues
and me have been able to impact this campus in ways that I could have
never imagined. I’ve worked on four different, distinct campuses around
South Carolina throughout my 30-plus year career and I can honestly
tell you that your support and commitment as provost has been
absolutely admirable compared to all of the others. MUSC’s Office of
Student Diversity has impacted thousands of students, faculty and staff
through our National Coalition Building Institute work, MUSC Excellence
and Creating Collaborative Care work. The Office of Student Diversity
didn’t want you to leave without us telling you personally how much
your leadership and support has meant. For your unwavering leadership
and commitment to excellence, inclusion, equity and diversity, we wish
you the very best and offer our love and support in your new journey." —Willette Burnham,
Office of Student Diversity
"Throughout my time at MUSC, John has always been incredibly responsive
and understanding of our Public Relations needs, and the transparency
needed when dealing with the outside press. He has been a continual and
vocal supporter of the work that we do to promote the university, and
his accessibility and enthusiasm in helping us get the good word out
has been so appreciated. We will miss his collaborative and supportive
spirit and wish him the best in his new position as president." —Heather Woolwine,
MUSC Office of Public Relations
"There’s a lot say about John Raymond. When my counterpart from the
Wisconsin Medical College, where John soon will be president and CEO,
called to ask me about him, I said ‘you’d find no finer person to work
with throughout your career.’ That, too, is what John meant to us. He’s
been there for both the foundation and university and we could always
count on him. He came through for us every time we needed help.
Campus wide, it wasn’t unusual to find John always helping others.
Truly and rarely can we, as an institution, recognize someone that y
can’t be replaced. John is one of those individuals. Dr. Raymond, thank
you for everything you’ve done for the foundation. You will be missed."
—Chip
Hood, Esq., Executive director, MUSC Foundation for Research Development
"John has been an incredible partner, both personally and
professionally, at the Ralph H. Johnson VA Hospital over many years,
starting well before his tenure as provost at MUSC. I discovered that
John and I joined the VA as resident-fellows at almost the same time
and year. We’ve shared that as well as an undying interest in
nephrology and commitment to excellent clinical care. John provided
outstanding leadership to our VA Medical Center. He served for many
years as associate chief of staff for our Research and Development
Service. Under his leadership, that program grew immensely and still
has one of the highest levels of funding per investigator of any VAMC
in the country. He was one of the primary individuals who organized our
application for a REAP proposal which provided funding for our center
of excellence that conjoined three different divisions within in the
Dept. of Medicine to work on various different components of a single
entity; glomerulonephritis. That REAP is alive and well today and has
brought great resources to both the VA and MUSC in terms of research
funding. More importantly, it has benefited both institutions in terms
of its role in supporting training of our next generation of medical
scientists. We really appreciate John’s commitment not only to research
leadership, but also to our clinical mission. John and I actually share
attending duties on a month-by-month basis. Despite his many
commitments, he would be there to see patients. Also, John’s
commitment to teaching is incredible. He is one of the most superb
teachers that I’ve had the experience to be around. His commitment to
the teaching effort is really an amazing thing. His departure will be a
great loss to the students at MUSC as well as the VA." —Flo Hutchison, M.D.,
Professor and Associate Dean for Veteran Affairs, Ralph Johnson VA
Medical Center
 "As I said
to our deans and vice presidents recently, I’ve had the privilege to
work with some amazing people, but none of them really compares
to John. He’s been an absolute, fantastic person to work with. We’re
all sorry to see him go. It’s a huge loss for us at MUSC, but at the
same time we all feel a sense of tremendous pride that he will soon be
leading one of the great other medical institutions in the U.S. They
could not have a better leader in John Raymond." —Ray Greenberg, M.D., Ph.D., MUSC President
Friday, June 25, 2010
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