Nationally renowned neurosurgeon Dr. Benjamin S. Carson was elected as alumni trustee of the Yale Corporation in a worldwide balloting of alumni.
President Richard C. Levin made the announcement to the alumni who had assembled in New Haven for reunions during the last weekend of May. He said: "Dr. Carson is a man of extraordinary accomplishment. At a time when academic medical centers across the nation are facing critical decisions, we are very fortunate to have his voice to contribute to our deliberations."
Dr. Carson, who graduated from Yale College in 1973, has achieved recognition both for his skill as a surgeon and as an inspiring role model for disadvantaged young people. He heads the department of pediatric neurosurgery at the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions and is associate professor of neurosurgery, oncology, plastic surgery and pediatrics at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.
The new Yale trustee is also dedicated to what he calls "another kind of healing" -- not just of the physical body, but of society. Through his television appearances, speaking engagements, books and one-on-one conversations, Dr. Carson reaches out to disadvantaged young people, urging them to use their intellectual potential to achieve success.
Dr. Carson's autobiography, titled "Gifted Hands," describes his early life of extreme poverty, low self-esteem, and poor academic performance -- and the changes he made to reach Yale, and then medical school at the University of Michigan.
"We must change the focus for young people," Dr. Carson said. "There's too much emphasis on junk information -- life styles of the rich and famous, and big sports contracts. That's the only kind of achievement many kids see. I'd like to see pictures of Nobel Prize winners on boxes of Wheaties."
Two years ago, Benjamin Carson and his wife, Lacena, a 1975 Yale graduate, founded the USA Scholars Fund, a national program which makes annual awards to students in grades 1 to 12 who both have the highest marks in their schools and who participate in community activities or demonstrate humane concern.
Dr. Carson has been recognized by the Alpha Omega Medical Honor Society, the Academy of Achievement, and by the Horatio Alger Society of Distinguished Americans. In 1996, he received an honorary Doctor of Medical Sciences degree from Yale University.