The mission of Prisma Health’s Levi S. Kirkland, Sr., MD Society is to offer mentorship and scholarships for African American students and residents, networking opportunities and to improve health equity and social justice within communities of color. Chartered in 2010, this BRG honors the contributions of Greenville’s first African American surgeon, Levi S. Kirkland Sr., MD.

Dr. Levi S. Kirkland, Sr., Greenville Health System’s first African-American surgeon, was a classmate and contemporary of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. We are immensely proud to head an organization in his name. Dr. King said, “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’” Dr. Kirkland spent an entire career and much of his lifetime answering this question by serving his patients and his community. 

It is this spirit that has, in turn, served as a guiding principle for the Levi S. Kirkland, Sr. MD, Society, also called the LSK Society. The organization’s goal focuses on providing answers to one of life’s most urgent questions by serving our minority and underserved communities. We thank you for visiting our webpage and look forward to camaraderie and collaboration in the future.

– Dr. Scott Porter

Levi S. Kirkland, Sr., MD Society scholarship opportunities and mentorships

Founded in 2010, LSK offers a scholarship to benefit students who identify as Black or African American at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine Greenville. In addition, Members of the Levi S. Kirkland, Sr. MD Society mentor students who identify as Black or African American. 

The goals of the mentoring program are to:

• Support students throughout their medical school experience
• Retain students in medical school
• Increase recruitment of the best and brightest students
   

For questions about the scholarship, contact Casey Wiley, Sr. Asst. Director of Financial Aid and Student Records, at wileyc@greenvillemed.sc.edu.

Scholarship Quotes

For me, giving to the Levi S. Kirkland Sr MD Scholarship meant the opportunity to honor two of my closest friends and to celebrate their determination, brilliance and contagious joy. It meant the best of both worlds: Acknowledging the past accomplishments of people I love while supporting the next great generation of physicians and helping to build the future of healthcare.

– Jenn Parker

A beauty of our universe is its diversity of talent and the privilege to assist and serve others. I consider it a responsibility to support our colleagues of tomorrow via the GHS scholarship program. Our scholarship program is an excellent venue to ‘give back’ and share what I was given on the journey of education, knowledge and caring for others.

– Michelle Taylor Smith, Vice President of Patient Care Services, Chief Nursing Officer and Chief Experience Officer

Consistent with Dr. Kirkland’s example, our contribution demonstrates we are not content as observers or mere “well-wishers.” Our active engagement facilitates a social change enterprise advancing not merely health and wellness. Our funding and support of like-minded students ensure clinical practice’s social vibrancy and relevance to communities we vow to serve. I’m convinced any Kirkland contribution I make in my father’s name advances our collective aspiration for social justice.

– Matthew F. Hudson, PhD, MPH, Comparative Effectiveness Research Director, Cancer Care Delivery Research Director

When I was asked to consider supporting the Second Century Campaign, I was immediately drawn to two ideas. First, I wanted to make a gift that could be put to use right away; and second, I wanted to support academic scholarships for individuals who have the potential to impact communities with significant need. What better way to do that than to honor the legacy of Dr. Levi S. Kirkland and direct my donation to scholarships funded through the Kirkland Society?

– Tod N. Tappert, Vice President for Culture and Learning, Greenville Health System

Levi S. Kirkland, Sr., MD Society mentoring program

In addition to offering a scholarship to benefit underrepresented minority students at University of South Carolina School of Medicine Greenville, members of the Levi S. Kirkland, Sr. MD Society members mentor underrepresented minority medical school students. The goals of the mentoring program are to:
 

• Support underrepresented minority students throughout their medical school experience
• Retain underrepresented minority students in the medical school
• Increase recruitment of the best and brightest underrepresented minority students