Bernard W. Deas, Jr., M.D. Endowed Scholarship

Established as an expendable scholarship in the early 1970s, to honor Dr. Bernard W. Deas, Jr., the first black male to graduate from the College of Medicine (in 1971). In 2021, the Alumni Association fully endowed the scholarship to honor his legacy. This scholarship is awarded to an entering student with continuation until graduation, pending successful academic and professionalism progress. The selected student will demonstrate both academic merit and financial need. In furtherance of the University’s commitment to improve health outcomes for diverse patient populations through training and establishing a diverse healthcare workforce, particular attention will be given to applicants who possess any of the following attributes: racial or ethnic minorities, first generation in their family to attend medical school, from a rural area, service history in rural areas or areas with diverse patient populations, and/or any other attribute that would make the candidate unique in the practice of medicine in the State of South Carolina.