President Barack Obama Nominates
Long Island University Honorary Degree Recipient to be U.S. Surgeon General
Dr. Regina Benjamin received an honorary Doctor of Science degree at the
Brooklyn Campus commencement in 1996

Brooklyn, N.Y. - Long Island University honorary degree recipient Regina M. Benjamin, a family physician whose life’s work has been dedicated to caring for underserved patients in rural areas, has been nominated to the nation’s top public health post.

Dr. Benjamin is President Barack Obama’s choice for surgeon general of the United States. She has spent most of her career tending to the needs of poor patients in her clinic in Bayou la Batre, a small coastal fishing village in Alabama. In 1995, Dr. Benjamin became the first African-American woman and the youngest doctor to be elected to the board of the American Medical Association. A year later, she received an honorary Doctor of Science degree at the commencement exercises at Long Island University’s Brooklyn Campus.

"A compassionate and inspiring role model for our students and all young people, Dr. Benjamin always has put healing ahead of rewards," said Campus Provost Gale Stevens Haynes. "We are proud to count her among our honorary degree recipients."

Each year during commencement, Long Island University awards honorary degrees to men and women who have distinguished themselves across a multitude of disciplines. Individuals are nominated by students, faculty members and other members of the University community, and final selections are made by the Honorary Degree Committee of the Board of Trustees.

"Dr. Benjamin was an ideal candidate for an honorary degree– her accomplishments reflect the University’s mission of access and excellence," said Dr. David J. Steinberg, president of Long Island University. "The nation will no doubt benefit from her expertise and her passionate commitment to providing quality health care to people from all walks of life."

The University paid tribute to her extraordinary record of service to the community in her honorary degree citation, which read: "A ministering angel whose grace has become manifest as a rural, primary care physician, you heal the sick and bring hope to many who otherwise would be denied access to the miracles of modern medicine. Serving a remote corner of our nation, far away from the bustle of the Big Apple, here in Brooklyn you touch a human chord of joy and inspiration."

Dr. Benjamin, who earned degrees from Xavier University, Morehouse School of Medicine, the University of Alabama School of Medicine and Tulane University, has been recognized repeatedly. Her numerous honors include a MacArthur Genius Award, a Kellogg National Fellowship and a Nelson Mandela Award for Health and Human Rights. She previously was named as one of the "Nation's 50 Future Leaders Age 40 and Under" by Time magazine, as "Person of the Week" by ABC's "World News Tonight with Peter Jennings" and as "Woman of the Year” by “CBS This Morning."

As surgeon general, Dr. Benjamin will lead the elite 6,000-member uniformed U.S. Public Health Services Commissioned Corps and will act as America’s chief educator on matters of public health.

Posted: July 27, 2009