UVA School of Medicine

Assuring Fair Access for All: Vivian Pinn’s Achievements and Legacy

 

                        A John F. Anderson Memorial Lecture/Medical Grand Rounds

Vivian W. Pinn MD, Founding Director,
Office of Research on Women’s Health,
and Senior Scientist Emerita, Fogarty International Center,
National Institutes of Health, Bethesda MD

Louis W. Sullivan MD, 17th U.S. Secretary, Health and Human Services, and
President Emeritus, Morehouse School of Medicine, Atlanta GA

Danielle Oliver, Generalist Scholar, SMD 18, UVA

Marcia Day Childress PhD, moderator

Mentorship is important to me, and my two points to young people are: overcome barriers and exceed expectations of
those who may not expect much of you; and have a mentor and be a mentor. Vivian Pinn MD

On 13 September 2017, the University of Virginia proudly dedicated as Pinn Hall the medical education and research building formerly known as Jordan Hall. The building’s new name recognizes UVA medical graduate Vivian W. Pinn MD, Class of 1967, founding director of the Office of Research on Women’s Health at the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Pinn was the second African American woman to graduate from the School of Medicine and went on to a distinguished career in pathology and in medical leadership. One of the medical school’s four colleges bears Dr. Pinn’s name, and she is an active presence in Pinn College student life.

This Medical Center Hour celebrated Dr. Pinn and her accomplishments and calls attention to critical current issues of fair and full access for underrepresented minorities, especially African American women, as students, practitioners, and leaders in medicine but also as beneficiaries of health care. Individually and institutionally, what can we learn from Dr. Pinn to ensure that her legacy matters?

Co-presented with the Department of Medicine and the Generalist Scholars Program, in conjunction with UVA’s dedication of Pinn Hall and the
UVA medical students’ celebration of Primary Care Week