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About Dr. Lawrence Zollicoffer

Dr. Lawrence Zollicoffer, MD (1930-1976) was the fourth African-American graduate of the UNC School of Medicine and founder of the Garywn Medical Center in Baltimore, Maryland.

Dr. Zollicoffer graduated from NC A&T State University at age 17, the youngest to do so. He then earned his medical degree in 1962 from the UNC School of Medicine after waiting nearly a decade for its doors to open to students of color.

A supporter and activist for civil and human rights, Dr. Zollicoffer dedicated his life to the health care of the community in which he practiced. Throughout his life, he exemplified qualities that students admire and hope to emulate as future physicians.

Zollicoffer-Merrimon Lectureship

The Zollicoffer Lectureship was established in 1981 by members of the UNC chapter of the Student National Medical Association with the support of the Dean Bondurant of the UNC School of Medicine. It is named in honor of Lawrence Zollicoffer, MD. By means of the lecture, we hope to increase the awareness of minority health issues and introduce the student body to dynamic minority role models in the field of medicine. In 2004, the Merrimon Family joined in providing support to this program.

Past Zollicoffer Speakers

2021 | No formal speaker this year

2020 | Pedro J. Greer Jr., MD, FACP, FACG
Associate Dean for Community Engagement
Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine
Florida International University

2019 | Donald E. Wesson, MD, MBA, FACP, FASN
President, Diabetes Health and Wellness Institute
at Baylor Scott & White Health

2018 | Lynn Weaver, MD, FACP, FACS
Chief of Surgery
Fayetteville, NC
Veterans Admin Medical Center

2017 |Frederick D. Burroughs, MD
Founder, Burroughs Pediatrics &
Co-founder, Sunnybrook Multispecialty Medical Center

2016 | No formal speaker this year

2015 | Herman Taylor, MD, MPH, FCCC, FAHA
Shirley Chair for the Study of Health Disparities
Professor of Medicine
University of Mississippi Medical Center

2014 | Ronny A. Bell, PhD
Director, Maya Angelou Center for Health Equity
Professor, Division of Public Health Sciences, Department of Epidemiology and Prevention
Wake Forest School of Medicine

2013 | Brenda Armstrong, MD
Associate Dean of Medical Education
Dean of Admissions
Duke University School of Medicine

2012 | Marie A. Bernard, MD
Deputy Director of the National Institute on Aging
National Institutes of Health

2011 | Elijah Saunders, MD, FACC, FACP, FAHA
Professor of Medicine
Head of the Hypertension Section in the Division of Cardiology
University of Maryland School of Medicine
Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine
Meharry Medical College
Vice President for Graduate Medical Education and Affiliations
University of Maryland Hospital

2010 | Wanda Nicholson, MD, MPH, MBA
Associate Professor in the Departments of Gynecology and Obstetrics and Family Health Sciences
Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and Bloomberg School of Public Health

2009 | Sandra Hooker-Harris, PhD
Vice President and Senior Associate Dean for Research Affairs
Professor in the Department of Pathology
Morehouse School of Medicine

2008 | Valerie Montgomery Rice, MD
Dean School of Medicine
Senior Vice President of Health Affairs
Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology
Meharry Medical School

2007 | Edward E. Cornwell III, MD, FACS, FCCM
Director of the Adult Trauma Service
Johns Hopkins Hospital
Professor of Surgery
Associate Professor of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine
Johns Hopkins University

2006| Valerie E. Stone, MD, MPH
Director of the Primary Care
Residency Program and Associate Chief in the General Medicine Unit
Massachusetts General Hospital

2005 | Lisa A. Cooper, MD, MPH
Associate Professor of Medicine
Epidemiology and Health Policy and Management
Johns Hopkins University, Welch Center for Prevention, Epidemiology, and Clinical Research

2004 | James W. Collins, MD, MPH
Associate Professor of Pediatrics
Feinberg School of Medicine
Northwestern University

2003 | Lynt B. Johnson, MD
Associate Professor of Surgery and Chief of the Division of Transplant Surgery
Georgetown University Medical Center

2002 | Marcus L. Martin, MD, FACEP
Professor and Chair of Emergency Medicine
University of Virginia

2001 | L. D. Britt, MD, MPH, FACS, FCCM
Brickhouse Professor
Chairman of the Department of Surgery
Eastern Virginia Medical School

2000 | Dennis McBride, MD, MPH
State Health Director
Assistant Secretary of Health
North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services

1999 | Edward G. Helm, M.D., F.A.C.S.
Associate Dean of Community and Minority Health Education
Associate Professor of Clinical Surgery
Head, Section of Surgical Endoscopy
Louisiana State University School of Medicine

1998 | Vanessa Northington Gamble, MD, PhD
Director, Center for the Study of Race and Ethnicity in Medicine
Associate Professor, Department of the History of Medicine, History of Science and Family Medicine
The University of Wisconsin at Madison

1997 | Eddie L. Hoover, MD
Professor and Chair, Department of Surgery
Chief, Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery
State University of New York at Buffalo

1996 | Reed V. Tuckson, MD
President
Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science

1995 | Mark D. Smith, MD, MBA
Executive Vice-President, Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation
Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine
University of California, San Francisco

1994 | Deborah Prothrow-Stith, MD
Assistant Dean, Government and Community Programs
Harvard School of Public Health

1993 | Ezra C. Davidson, Jr., MD
Professor and Chair, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology
Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science

1992 | Haile T. Debas, MD
Professor and Chair, Department of Surgery
University of California at San Francisco

1991 | Janice Douglas, MD
Professor of Medicine
University Hospital & Case Western Reserve University

1990 | James R. Gavin, MD, PhD
Professor for Diabetes Studies and Medicine
University of Oklahoma Health Services

1989 | Richard A. Williams, MD
Professor of Medicine
University of California at Los Angeles

1988 | Festus O. Adelbonojo, MD
Professor and Chair, Department of Pediatrics
Meharry Medical College

1987 | Claude H. Organ, Jr., MD
Professor of Surgery
University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center

1986 | Jean Spurloch, MD
Deputy Medical Director
American Psychiatry Association

1985 | Donald L. Wilson, MD
Professor and Chair, Department of Medicine
State University of New York
Downstate Medical Center

1984 | Vivian W. Pinn, MD
Professor and Chair, Department of Pathology
Howard University College of Medicine

1983 | William W. Funderbunk, MD
Clinical Associate Professor of Surgery
Howard University College of Medicine

1982 | Alvin F. Poussaint, MD
Associate Professor of Psychiatry
Harvard University College of Medicine

1981 | Louis W. Sullivan, MD
Secretary of Health and Human Services