2025 Black History Month Lecture to Feature Thaddeus John Bell, M.D.

Join us for the 2025 Black History Month Lecture, featuring Dr. Thaddeus John Bell, a distinguished physician, educator, and advocate for health equity. Dr. Bell will share his insights on the ongoing efforts to close health disparities in African American and underserved communities as well as his own work to decrease those disparities by promoting health education. He will also discuss how his experiences as a physician, educator, and community leader have shaped his mission to improve health literacy and access to care. This event will be hybrid, free, and open to the public. It will be held Tuesday, February 18, 2025, at 12:00PM in Baruch Auditorium and virtually on Zoom.

Dr. Bell is a practicing Family Practice Physician based in Charleston, South Carolina, and a renowned leader in addressing health disparities. He retired from the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) after serving as the Director of University Diversity, Associate Dean for Diversity in the College of Medicine, and a Clinical Associate Professor of Family Medicine. He is also the Founder of Closing the Gap in Health Care, Inc. (CGHC), a non-profit organization created to decrease health disparities by providing health education for African American and other under-served populations which has been recognized as one of the programs of its kind by the National Health Foundation.

Dr. Bell’s career spans decades of medical and community service with numerous awards and recognitions. In 2018, the Fetter Summerville Health Center was renamed the Thaddeus J. Bell Family Health Center. His extensive accolades include the 2013 National Medical Association Distinguished Service Award, Toronto, Canada, the James Clyburn Health Literacy Award in Public Health Communications and Community Service, the Earl B. Higgins Diversity Award, Physician of the Year from the South Carolina Academy of Family Physicians (the first African American given this honor), an honorary Doctorate of Letters from Charleston Southern University, and many more. He served in the US Air Force Reserve from 1983-1993 and is a graduate of the School of Aero Space Medicine as well as a former world-class sprinter, winning World Champion in 1987 and 1989 for the 100m sprint and served as physicians for USA Track and Field.

The Waring Library Society sponsors this annual lecture as part of the Waring Library Society Lecture series. Light refreshments will be available.

Virtual seating is limited and registration is required by Monday, February 17, 2025, at 6 PM to reserve your seat and to receive login information.