Howard University to Award Honorary Degree to Dr. A. Eugene Washington

Dr. A. Eugene Washington
Howard University will present an honorary degree to Duke Chancellor for Health Affairs A. Eugene Washington.

Duke Chancellor for Health Affairs Dr. Eugene A. Washington was one of six outstanding leaders in their field selected by Howard University to receive an honorary degree during the school’s 155th Commencement Convocation on Saturday, May 13.

Washington, who received his undergraduate degree from Howard, joins Congressman James E. Clyburn; education benefactors Martha and Bruce A. Karsh; Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago Keith Christopher Rowley, and corporate director Benaree Pratt Wiley in receiving honorary degrees for 2023.

“Our 2023 honorees are among the leaders in their respective fields, in no small part due to their commitment to our collective humanity and building a better society for us all,” said Dr. Wayne A. I. Frederick, president of Howard University.

“Truth and service have been major elements to their lives both personally and professionally, which makes this year’s honorary degree recipients exceedingly qualified to join the Class of 2023. As we celebrate our 155th Commencement Convocation, we want to spotlight our honorees for their tireless work at Howard University and across the world. They have repeatedly shown and proven their capacity to improve the world, and we honor them for their efforts.”

Dr. Washington completed his undergraduate studies at Howard University, medical school at UCSF, graduate studies at both UC Berkeley and Harvard schools of public health, and residency training at Stanford University. 

He has dedicated his entire career to improving the health and healthcare of the American people. An internationally renowned clinical investigator and health policy scholar, Dr. Washington has been a leader in assessing medical technologies, developing clinical practice guidelines, and establishing disease prevention policies, particularly in women’s health. The thread that runs throughout all of this work is improving quality of healthcare and eliminating racial/ethnic disparities in health outcomes.

His research has greatly impacted the practice of medicine in prenatal genetic testing, cervical cancer screening and prevention, noncancerous uterine conditions management, and reproduction-related infections. His executive leadership has inspired academic health systems to adopt public health principles as core to their mission. His service to the nation through professional and government boards and committees has emphasized the importance of health equity and community engagement in health policy.

With increasing levels of authority and influence, Dr. Washington has held academic leadership positions and senior executive posts in three prominent academic health systems. Currently, Dr. Washington is Chancellor for Health Affairs at Duke University, where he also served as President and CEO of the Duke University Health System. Just prior to Duke, Dr. Washington served as Vice Chancellor of Health Sciences, Dean of the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and Chief Executive Officer of the UCLA Health System.

At the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), Dr. Washington served as Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost. There, he co-founded and directed the Medical Effectiveness Research Center for Diverse Populations, one of the first centers of excellence conducting research on health services for minority populations. Before joining the faculty at UCSF, Dr. Washington worked at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta.

Dr. Washington is known as one of the most vocal proponents in the U.S. of academic health systems adopting health improvement as their ultimate mission, beyond the traditional missions of research, education, and patient care. At Duke University, he initiated and led the transition of Duke Medicine to Duke Health, which is today demonstratively more focused on socioeconomic determinants of health and building healthy communities.

At UCLA, Dr. Washington consolidated disparate and widespread projects into a comprehensive and organized community engagement entity that magnified the impact of these activities. And at UCSF, he strengthened the institution’s commitment to service by building lasting partnerships with the community and by creating alignment across the entire enterprise. 

Dr. Washington has also impacted the national health and healthcare agenda through his thought leadership. He was elected to the Institute of Medicine (now the National Academy of Medicine) in 1997 and to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2014. He has served on the Board of Trustees of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Board of Directors of the California Health Care Foundation and The California Wellness Foundation, where he was Chair of each Board.

Dr. Washington is founding Chair of the Board of Governors of the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute, a national research organization authorized by the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.