Our conversation with the President of Wayne State University Dr. M. Roy Wilson

Recently we had a chance to talk to Dr. M. Roy Wilson President of Wayne State University. During the 25 minute interview we spoke on alot of topics including his award winning research on Glaucoma

and its impact on people of color. He talked about why he chose Wayne State University. Dr. M. Roy Wilson shared his concerns about the lack of African American males attending College and Prop 2 impact on the medical school at Wayne State.

M. Roy Wilson, M.D., M.S., was unanimously elected President of Wayne State University by the Board of Governors on June 5, 2013. He assumed the presidency on August 1, 2013.

Prior to joining Wayne State, Dr. Wilson served as deputy director for strategic scientific planning and program coordination at the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

As deputy director, Dr. Wilson led the development and implementation of an integrated system for planning, coordinating, and evaluating the NIH health disparities research portfolio, in collaboration with the NIH institutes and centers. He also co-chaired the NIH Common Fund programs: the Building Infrastructure Leading to Diversity Initiative and the National Research Mentoring Network.

Previously, Dr. Wilson was dean of the School of Medicine and vice president for health sciences at Creighton University, president of the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, and, concurrently, chancellor of the University of Colorado Denver and chair of the Board of Directors of University of Colorado Hospital. Immediately prior to joining the NIH, Dr. Wilson chaired the Board of Directors of Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science and was acting president during part of that time. Under Dr. Wilson’s leadership, the university regained full institutional accreditation and stabilized its finances.

Dr. Wilson’s research has focused on glaucoma and blindness in populations from the Caribbean to West Africa. He holds elected memberships in the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences, the Glaucoma Research Society and the American Ophthalmological Society. He has served on the executive committee of the NIH-funded Ocular Hypertension Treatment Study, chaired the Data Monitoring and Oversight Committee of the NIH-funded Los Angeles Latino Eye Study, and currently chairs the Data Monitoring and Oversight Committee of the African-American Eye Disease Study. Dr. Wilson was a member of the advisory councils of both NIMHD and the former National Center for Research Resources, as well as the NIH Director’s National Advisory Committee on Diversity in the Biomedical Research Workforce.  He serves, or has served, on the governing boards of many national organizations including the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities, Coalition of Urban Serving Universities, American International Health Alliance, Association of Academic Health Centers, and the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC).

Dr. Wilson received his undergraduate degree from Allegheny College, an M.S. in epidemiology from the University of California, Los Angeles, and an M.D. from Harvard Medical School. He was selected for the list of Best Doctors in America for a consecutive 14 years by Best Doctors Inc. and was a finalist for the Los Angeles Business Journal’s Healthcare CEO of the Year in 2011. His additional honors include the American Academy of Ophthalmology’s Senior Achievement Award, the Distinguished Physician Award from the Minority Health Institute, the Herbert W. Nickens Award from the Association of American Medical Colleges, and the NIH Director’s Award.