California
State Assembly Member Mervyn
M. Dymally to Receive President’s
Medal During Charles R. Drew
University of Medicine and
Science Commencement Ceremony
Los Angeles, California, May
23, 2005—Charles R. Drew University of Medicine
and Science will pay tribute to Mervyn M. Dymally, California State Assembly
member for the 52nd District, by awarding him with the President’s Medal
as it bestows degrees to more than 200 of the nation’s future healthcare
leaders. The event, which takes place on Saturday, June 4 at 10:00 a.m. on the
campus lawn, will also feature Assembly Member Dymally as the keynote speaker
for 21st Annual Commencement Ceremony. In addition, Former US Surgeon General
Dr. Antonia Coello Novello will be the recipient of an Honorary Degree with Cornelius
L. Hopper and Sylvia Drew Ivie, Chair and Director of the Steering Committee
on the Future of King/Drew Medical Center, respectively, receiving the Board
of Trustees’ Medal of Honor.
“Assembly Member Dymally has a long standing history with Drew University
and its mission,” said Dr. Harry E. Douglas, Interim President of Charles
R. Drew University. “His dedication to the delivery of quality health care
has been a matter of public record for many years. He remains on the front lines
of the University’s pursuit to provide care to underserved communities
with compassion as we strive to make a difference through education, patient
care and research.”
Assembly
Member Dymally originally came
to the United States from Trinidad,
West Indies, at age 19 as a
journalism major at Lincoln
University in Jefferson City,
Missouri. In Trinidad, he was
a staff reporter for The Vanguard,
a weekly newspaper published
by the Oil Workers Trade
Union.
From Missouri, he traveled to California where he earned a Bachelor of Arts
degree in Education from Los Angeles State College and began his teaching career
in Special Education with the Los Angeles Unified School District.
In 1960, Assembly Member
Dymally worked as Field
Coordinator for the Kennedy
Campaign, then successfully ran for the Assembly in 1962. In 1966, he became
the first African American to serve in the State Senate. In 1974, he again
made history when he was elected as Lieutenant Governor. He ran for Congress
in 1980 representing South Los Angeles County and became the first foreign-born
black to serve in the United States Congress.
It was while he was in the
California State Senate,
that Assembly Member Dymally,
was credited with what
affectionately is known
as the “Dymally Bill”,
which established the Drew/UCLA Undergraduate Medical Education Program., through
an Affiliation Agreement with the University of California.
Since his retirement from
Congress in 1992, and prior
to his return to public
service, Assembly Member
Dymally traveled extensively
throughout Africa, Asia
and the Caribbean. He has
been a distinguished professor
at Central State University,
Ohio and a member of the
faculty at Drew University.
Holding a Master's degree
in Government from California
State University, Sacramento,
and a Ph.D. in Human Behavior
from United States International
University, San Diego, Assembly Member Dymally is also a member of
Phi Kappa Phi, the National
Honor Scholastic Society.
He is married to the former
Alice Gueno of New Orleans
who was a teacher. He is
the father of two children,
Mark and Lynn, and the
grandfather of Miya, Christian
and Cameron Dymally.
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