David Satcher Bio

David Satcher, MD, PhD, Founding Chair
Director, The Satcher Health Leadership Institute and Center of Excellence on Health Disparities, Morehouse School of Medicine
Poussaint-Satcher-Cosby Chair in Mental Health
16th Surgeon General of the United States

David Satcher is director of the Satcher Health Leadership Institute at Morehouse School of Medicine. The Institute’s programs reflect his experience in improving public health policy and his commitment to eliminating health disparities for underserved groups and the poor and shedding light on neglected issues.

Sworn in as the 16th Surgeon General of the United States in 1998, Dr. Satcher's tenure of public service also includes serving as assistant secretary for Health in the Department of Health and Human Services, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and administrator of the Toxic Substances and Disease Registry.

Dr. Satcher has received over 40 honorary degrees and numerous top awards from the National Medical Association, the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Family Physicians. Additional honors include being named a Macy Foundation Fellow, a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Clinical Scholar and a Senior Visiting Fellow of the Kaiser Family Foundation. He serves on the board of directors of Johnson and Johnson, MetLife, the Kaiser Family Foundation, and locally on the board of United Way and The Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta.

Dr. Satcher holds a BS degree from Morehouse College and MD and PhD degrees from Case Western Reserve University.