Dr. Richard Grant has the honor of holding the position as the nation’s first endowed chair devoted to diversity of the faculty.
University Hospitals created the Edgar B. Jackson Jr., M.D. Endowed Chair for Diversity in 2000 to honor Jackson, an African-American physician. Last year, the hospital tapped Dr. Grant for the position.
Before joining the UH system, Dr. Grant served 13 years as chairman of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery in the College of Medicine at Howard University in Washington, D.C. He is one of a select few African-American orthopaedic surgeons in the country and the first to become a full-time faculty member at UH.
Dr. Jackson, the endowed chair namesake, retired UH physician and longtime community advocate for the poor, was instrumental in bringing Dr. Grant to Cleveland. Minority physicians are difficult to recruit nationally, and UH is betting on Dr. Grant to help provide the draw it needs to boost its staff.
“The one thing that really made us want to pursue Richard for this position was his reputation in leading a national effort to bring more African-Americans into the medical field, particularly in relation to orthopaedics and other subspecialties,” Dr. Jackson said.