Stepping into his role as 12th president and chief executive officer of Meharry Medical College on July 1, James E.K. Hildreth, MD, PhD, is entering new territory but on familiar ground.
After a yearlong process looking for the medical school’s next leader, the 11-member Meharry presidential committee, aided by global executive search firm Spencer Stuart, presented Hildreth to Meharry’s Board of Trustees as the right candidate for the job. Following a unanimous vote in early March to approve his appointment, the former Meharry faculty member and renowned researcher returns to Nashville to take the helm of the nation’s largest, private, independent historically black academic health sciences center.
In announcing the appointment this spring, Board Chairman Frank S. Royal, Sr., MD, noted, “Dr. Hildreth brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to Meharry along with a great appreciation for our college’s legacy.”
For Hildreth, the decision to return, following his post as dean of the University of California Davis’ College of Biological Sciences, wasn’t difficult. “What drew me back is the opportunity to play an important role in an institution whose mission resonates with me personally,” he said. “I want this to be my last job.”
Hildreth added he plans to have a front row seat for Meharry’s sesquicentennial. “Meharry will turn 150 years old in 2026, and I want to be around for that party … it will be quite a party,” he said with a laugh.
The Road Back to Meharry
Meharry’s mission to serve the underserved resonates strongly with Hildreth. “I just believe no matter who you are, you deserve the best care,” he stated. “Excellence and caring for people who are disadvantaged are not mutually exclusive.”
That foundational belief was born of personal experience. Growing up the youngest of seven children in rural Arkansas, Hildreth watched his father succumb to cancer. “My father died when I was 11 years old. I didn’t understand why he didn’t get more medical care,” Hildreth recalled. “When I was 13 years old, I decided I would do something about my concern over how healthcare was delivered.”
A bright, engaged student who always loved science, Hildreth credits a high school teacher with sparking his love of biology. After graduation, Hildreth headed to Harvard where he received his degree in chemistry in 1979.
The first African-American Rhodes Scholar from Arkansas, Hildreth left for what was supposed to be two years at Oxford. “I understood the power of education, but to have all those people come to one place … one old, old place … and be surrounded by amazing scholars was a pretty powerful thing to me,” he recalled of the exciting juxtaposition of new ideas flowing through hallowed halls where students have learned for nearly 1,000 years.
By the time he arrived in England, Hildreth knew where his interest was leading him, and he was eager to study under several renowned immunologists at Oxford. “I petitioned, and petitioned and petitioned until the warden gave me two more years of support so I completed my PhD at Oxford,” he said. Persistence, he laughed, paid off, and he received his doctorate in immunology in 1982.
From there, he returned stateside and enrolled in Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. Taking a year off in the middle of his training for a postdoctoral fellowship, Hildreth graduated in 1987. “The same year I finished medical school, Johns Hopkins offered me a faculty position, and I remained on faculty until I came to Meharry in 2005,” he said.
Hildreth’s first stint at Meharry was as a professor from 2005-2011. In addition to founding Meharry’s Center for HIV/AIDS Health Disparities Research, the internationally renowned physician-scientist received a National Institutes of Health grant to establish Meharry’s Translational Research Center. He also served as associate director of the Vanderbilt-Meharry Center for AIDS Research.
His groundbreaking work led to the discovery that HIV needs cholesterol to fuse with a host cell and has opened up new avenues of attacking the virus’ Achilles’ heel, including the development of microbicides to try to thwart transmission.
During his time at U.C. Davis, Hildreth introduced formal fundraising to the College of Biological Sciences and more than doubled the amount of private funds raised. He created a biology postdoctoral program, hired 16 new faculty members, and opened a first-of-its-kind advising center for undergraduate students.
Hildreth succeeds A. Cherrie Epps, PhD, the longtime member of Meharry’s leadership team who stepped in to fill the void in 2013 when former president and CEO Wayne Riley, MD, resigned his post. His return to Nashville fit well both professionally and personally. Hildreth is married to Phyllis, an attorney who teaches conflict resolution at Lipscomb University. The couple has two children – daughter Sophia is an attorney in the Judge Advocate General’s (JAG) Corps at Fort Bliss, Texas, and son Jay is a senior at the University of Oregon.
The Journey Forward
Hildreth is clearly not content to rest on past accomplishments. “There is a need to rethink where we’ve trained students and how we are training them,” he said.
“Interprofessional education is really important,” he continued. “If outcomes are the metric we’re going to use to measure ourselves by, physicians have to be able to work as teams.” Hildreth added, “As a research scientist, in my world, collaboration has been the order of the day for some time now.”
He stressed the need to join forces with academic and community organizations to strengthen healthcare delivery. “Part of my vision for Meharry as president is to continue the partnerships and collaborations we already have and expand on that.” Hildreth added another focus would be to implement innovative ideas. “Being a small, nimble institution, we can do some things larger institutions cannot.”
Calling himself ‘chief cheerleader’ for an incredible faculty and student body, Hildreth said, “I’m really excited to be back and look forward to great things to come. I think with the right focus, vision and plan, we’re going to do some amazing things here.”