FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For more information, contact:
Donna Lewis Johnson, (202) 833-9771 ext 111, donna@mckpr.com
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Awards Meharry Medical College Historic
Multimillion-Dollar Endowment to Establish National Health Policy Center
Vanderbilt University, a partner in groundbreaking program
Nashville, TN March 5, 2009 The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) Health Policy
Center at Meharry Medical College was announced today at an event which launched the
creation of a center that will develop collaborative approaches to pressing health policy issues.
Senior Vice President and Director of the Health Care Group John R. Lumpkin, M.D., M.P.H.,
joined with Meharry Medical College President and CEO Wayne J. Riley, Vanderbilt University
Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Richard McCarty and other university leaders
to announce the center, which builds upon the longstanding partnership between the two medical
institutions.
The single largest endowment in Meharry s 130-year history, the RWJF endowment totals $9
million. It will be supplemented with additional funding to support the work at Meharry, the
largest, private, independent, historically black, academic health institution in America.
The Center aims to increase the number and diversity of those with formal training in sociology
and economics who engage in health services and health policy research. The project will build
on a successful Meharry-Vanderbilt partnership by integrating faculty and students of
Vanderbilt s sociology and economics department within the Center which will be based on
Meharry s campus and operate under the direct supervision of the Office of the President.
The Center will have four components: (1)The recruitment and retention of health policy
students and faculty; (2) creation of a certificate program in health policy; (3) establishing a
Health Policy Scholars in Residence program; and (4) support for student and faculty research to
inform policy debates.
The Center at Meharry will complement the efforts of the RWJF Center at the University of New
Mexico. As one of the nation s leading historically black colleges and universities, Meharry is
uniquely positioned to be the site for the Center for Health Policy. Vanderbilt has a long history
of training graduate students in sociology and economics. Leadership at both Nashville
institutions and within the community is committed to the creation of a center to influence
national health policy debates.

Meharry is uniquely positioned to be the creation site for the Center for Health Policy, said
John R. Lumpkin, M.D., M.P.H., senior vice president and director of the Health Care Group of
the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. This historic program will train and produce experts
grounded in the real-world experiences of America s increasingly diverse population who will
work to improve health care for all Americans.
Responding to the announcement of the grant, Wayne J. Riley, M.D., M.P.H., M.B.A., F.A.C.P.,
president and CEO, remarked: Meharry is honored and pleased to receive this historic
endowment gift from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to establish a national health policy
center, says The Center will help to reshape the future of America s health policies by creating
a more inclusive pool of experts trained in health.
It is a privilege to partner with Vanderbilt on this initiative, Dr. Riley continued. The Center
will build on our existing strong relationship and shared commitment to increase diversity in
heath policy.
Vanderbilt is proud to collaborate with Meharry on this groundbreaking health policy initiative
by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, said Vanderbilt Chancellor Nicholas S. Zeppos.
Through this initiative, we will work to ensure that our future leaders in this field represent the
diversity of our communities and have the core expertise in sociology and economics to address
the complex issues associated with developing and implementing effective health policy.
The RWJF Center for Health Policy at Meharry will be a sister institution with the RWJF Center for
Health Policy at the University of New Mexico, founded in 2007.
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation focuses on the pressing health and health care issues facing our
country. As the nation's largest philanthropy devoted exclusively to improving the health and health care
of all Americans, the Foundation works with a diverse group of organizations and individuals to identify
solutions and achieve comprehensive, meaningful and timely change. For more than 35 years the
Foundation has brought experience, commitment, and a rigorous, balanced approach to the problems that
affect the health and health care of those it serves. When it comes to helping Americans lead healthier
lives and get the care they need, the Foundation expects to make a difference in your lifetime. For more
information, visit www.rwjf.org.
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For more information on the Center contact Janet M. Caldwell, 615-327-6851 or Donna Lewis
Johnson, 202-255-6188