Institutions of higher education, including schools of medicine and programs in graduate medical have the unique potential for shaping how learners see the world and define their role in it. Often best situated to offer vision, credibility, and leadership, educators in every must participate in helping Americans increase the realm of duties we define as moral responsibilities of citizenship. Considering and deliberately affecting this dimension of medical education is both appropriate and necessary. Learners should find themselves immersed in a community where clinical skills are only one part of a deeper process of developing commitments to the common good. Especially those joining the medical profession must realize that with the privilege of being better educated than percent of our nation’s population comes an obligation to understand that everyone's health and potential to thrive is worth fighting for – through direct care, advocacy, and the culture-shaping work of leadership.
Stephen Black, of US Supreme Court Justice Hugo L. Black, grew up in New Mexico after most of his family left the state in the 1950’s and 60’s following his grandfather’s role in controversial Civil Rights decisions, including Brown v. Board of Education. Despite growing up over 1,000 miles away, he was fascinated by Alabama and the legacy of his family’s commitment to public service in their home state. He received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania and his Juris Doctorate from Yale Law School. Following his graduation from law school, he returned to Alabama to join the Birmingham law firm, Maynard, Cooper & Gale, PC. He then served for a brief time as an assistant to the Governor focusing on policy and economic development projects. Encouraged by the enthusiasm of thousands of students he encountered when speaking across the state, he turned his focus to founding and leading the Center for Ethics & Social Responsibility at The University of Alabama. He also founded Impact Alabama: A Student Service Initiative (that is currently named Impact America). Impact America is an award-winning nonprofit with programs in Alabama, Tennessee, South Carolina, and Florida that provides college students the opportunity to participate in structured service projects designed to promote learning and leadership development.