University of Tennessee Health Science Center Has Nation's 2nd Largest Percentage of African-American Medical Grads

The University of Tennessee Health Science Center has the second highest percentage of African-American medical student graduates among non-historically black medical schools in the U.S., according to a new report.
The report, compiled by the Association of American Medical Colleges, stated 20 African-American students graduated from UTHSC during the 2011 academic year, making up 14.08 percent of its 142 graduating class. Duke University was No. 1, graduating 19 students, or 19 percent of its 100-student graduating class.
The Association of American Medical Colleges is a not-for-profit association representing 141 accredited U.S. and 17 Canadian medical schools, nearly 400 major teaching hospitals and health systems. It also includes 51 Department of Veterans Affairs medical centers and nearly 90 academic and scientific societies.
“Our College of Medicine is committed to recruiting talented, motivated African-American men and women with the drive and desire to become competent, caring physicians,” David Stern, executive dean for UTHSC, said in a statement. “Matching the complexion and diversity of the physician workforce to the communities we serve is essential in ameliorating disparities in health care that plague our region and nation.”
article by Michael Sheffield via bizjournals.com