MEHARRY AND FISK ARRIVE AT AGREEMENT TO FAST-TRACK MEDICAL AND DENTAL SCHOOL ADMISSIONS FOR SELECT UNDERGRAD STUDENTS
The December 5, 2019 signing of the early admissions agreement between Meharry and Fisk: Seated from left, Dr. James E.K. Hildreth and Dr. Kevin D. Rome Sr., Fisk president. Standing left to right, Dr.Stephanie C. McClure, senior associate dean of the Meharry School of Medicine; Dr. Jens Frederiksen, Fisk senior vice president, institutional advancement and enrollment; Dr. Cherae Farmer-Dixon, Meharry School of Dentistry dean; Vann R. Newkirk, Fisk provost; Jocelyn Imani, Fisk assistant dean for graduate studies and academic operations and Joseph Watkins, chief of staff to the president at Fisk.
Nashville’s Meharry Medical College and Fisk University have agreed on a program to fast-track medical and dental school admissions at Meharry for select undergraduate matriculants at Fisk, college officials said.
The collaboration between the two renowned African-American colleges follows Meharry’s recently inaugurated early acceptance program with Middle Tennessee State University and admits Fisk undergraduate students who meet strict criteria directly into medical and dental school at Meharry, according to Patrick H. Johnson, senior vice president of institutional advancement at the health sciences center.
The partnership between Meharry and Fisk gives students focused on a career as a physician or dentist a clearly specified pathway. Meharry President James E.K. Hildreth Sr., Ph.D., M.D., said the program is another crucial step toward increasing the pipeline of African Americans entering health care professions. “Over the past several years, the trend has gone in the wrong direction,” Hildreth said. “We are committed to changing this trajectory.”
Fisk President Kevin D. Rome Sr., Ph.D., said the program is another continuation of the relationship between the two historically black colleges. “Fisk and Meharry have always been wonderful partners and we are committed to recruiting more aspiring health professionals and medical doctors,” he said.
For Fisk, the program will boost the university’s growing enrollment, said Jens Frederiksen, senior vice president of enrollment and institutional advancement, and will attract more high caliber students bound for the medical professions.