Will Ross

As the Associate Dean for Diversity, Director of the Office of Diversity Programs, and Assistant Professor in Medicine in the Renal Division at Washington University School of Medicine, Dr. Will Ross promotes cultural diversity throughout the medical center. A longtime advocate of public health and health care for the medically under-served, he has produced educational videos, public service announcements and monographs on eliminating health care disparities. He co-authored “Living with Dignity – A Guide to African American Health.” Fellow Faculty member, Ifeanyichukwu Megwalu said, “I am nominating Dr. Ross because he is a truly altruistic man, who goes out of his way to raise awareness of public health issues, and to encourage people to take action.”

Working with students and physicians throughout the city, Dr. Ross has helped open free medical clinics for uninsured patients and has provided numerous lectures and symposiums to educate the public about preventable diseases such as AIDS, diabetes and high blood pressure.

Dr. Ross is the past President of the Mound City Medical Forum, the St. Louis minority physicians association, which promotes accessible health care for minorities and other medically under-served groups. He serves on the Board of the Missouri Foundation for Health, one of the nation’s largest health care foundations and the St. Louis Regional Health Commission, where he co-chairs the Health Literacy Task Force. Through these organizations he is helping to coordinate health care for the entire St. Louis region in order to reduce the unnecessary burden and costs shared by the less fortunate members of our community.

Each of the people who nominated Dr. Ross for this award detailed his involvement above and beyond his job expectations. Dr. Ed Dodson, a 2004 honoree said, “Dr. Ross’s volunteerism for the community entails much more than just sitting on influential boards of directors. He is in the front lines of community service.”

Dr. Ross was awarded the “Humanism in Medicine Award” from Washington University School of Medicine in 2001 and is a member of the Alpha Omega Alpha medical honor society. A 1980 graduate of Yale University, he completed medical school at Washington University, a residency in Medicine at Vanderbilt University and a Fellowship in Kidney Diseases at Washington University School of Medicine.