Matthew W. Wilson '86
How do you get to the doctor when you don't have a car? How do you pay the doctor or buy medicine when your low-wage job doesn't offer health coverage? How do you communicate with the nurse if there's a language barrier? Perhaps nothing has illustrated health care disparities like these more keenly than the global coronavirus pandemic, which disproportionately affected African Americans and Latinos.
Dr. Matthew W. Wilson '86, a physician who cares for children with eye cancer, wants to do something about it. Wilson has committed a planned gift of $4 million to the university's Institute for the Advancement of Community Health to tackle these pressing health care issues.
"It's clear that health care disparities are real and they need to be addressed and I'm incredibly proud of the fact that Furman has an avenue to study and provide solutions for these challenges," he said. "The goal is to ensure a legacy for the opportunities that IACH is providing for the students at Furman, giving them the experiential education they need to pursue health care careers and be a part of the solution."
"Dr. Wilson has proven to be a champion of health care for those who need it most and of educating future health care providers who will serve their communities," said Furman President Elizabeth Davis. "We are so grateful to Matt for his generosity and for his commitment to his alma mater and our students."
The Institute for the Advancement of Community Health was formed to focus on improving the health of the Greenville community. A good part of its work is helping the one-third of Furman students who want to pursue health careers by offering internships that make them more competitive for graduate school and enable them to better understand their chosen field.
The institute works with community partners such as Prisma Health, Bon Secours St. Francis Health System, and the Piedmont Health Foundation on research and internships alike. Students might spend time at a hospital observing general surgery, for example, or at a cardiac rehab center shadowing a physical therapist. Or they may pursue non-clinical careers focused on education, poverty, food insecurity and other social determinants that nonetheless have an impact on people's health.
The Master of Science in Community Engaged Medicine also will benefit from the gift. The one-year master's program blends the biomedical sciences with population health to advance students academically while involving them in underserved areas of the community. It also seeks to increase diversity and cultural competence among health care providers while breaking down social disparities of health.
Wilson, a native of Atlanta and son of an ophthalmologist, said he fell in love with Furman after visiting his older brother at the university when he was a student. A biology major, he graduated in 1986 and attended medical school at Emory University in Atlanta, where he also did his ophthalmology residency. Oncology and reconstructive surgery fellowships followed, and he began practice in 1997.
Now he is a professor of ophthalmology at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, where he is also the vice chair for Academic Affairs. He is also the chief of ophthalmology at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, where he holds the chair of excellence in pediatric ophthalmology.
He attributes his success to his time at Furman.
"A large part of everything I have today is based on what Furman provided to me, which was not only a biology and pre-med education, but a comprehensive liberal arts education," he said. "As valuable as biology, chemistry and physics were, the humanities, the history and the philosophy were equally important to shape who I am today."
A long-time advocate of real-world experiences in addition to classroom education, Wilson has often invited Furman students to spend summer internships in Memphis, cementing his ties to IACH. And because a large focus of his career has been global disparities in treating eye cancer, it became clear that IACH and the work it does addressing these disparities warranted his support.
"Philanthropy is never about you as an individual, it's about the projects you're passionate about," he said. "And I feel it needs to be fully supported in perpetuity to make sure all Furman students have access to these opportunities."
The gift, which will fund an endowment and existing scholarships, also serves to highlight The Furman Advantage, which helps align students' passions with hands-on experiences. Undoubtedly, Dr. Wilson's generous investment in IACH and the Master of Science in Community Engaged Medicine is a valuable investment in the future and will impact students for generations to come.
