ATLANTA - Morehouse School of Medicine (MSM) was deeply saddened to learn of the passing of former U.S. Senator Arlen Specter (D-PA).  Senator Specter was a consummate champion of justice and worked tirelessly throughout his career to reduce health and healthcare inequities. He also worked diligently to ensure that there were opportunities for individuals from minority communities and disadvantaged backgrounds to pursue a career in the health professions.

Morehouse School of Medicine President, John E. Maupin, Jr., D.D.S., said, “We very much appreciated Senator Specter’s leadership in working with his Senate colleagues to support federal initiatives that enhanced health profession training opportunities for minority students and strengthened the research infrastructure of centers of emerging excellence like Morehouse School of Medicine. He will be sorely missed. The entire Morehouse School of Medicine family extends our deepest sympathy to his family.”

During his time in the United States Senate, Specter played a key role in providing federal funding for Morehouse School of Medicine’s National Center for Primary Care, a nationally renowned center advancing the value of primary care health services.  As chairman of the Senate Health Appropriations Subcommittee, Senator Specter was instrumental in bringing attention to identified shortfalls in the National Institute of Health’s (NIH) efforts to investigate the causes and cures of ethnic based health disparities.  His efforts led to the introduction and ultimate passage of legislation that created the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) at NIH.