Friend of the School of Medicine Award
Everett L. Dargan, MD, FACS
Everett L. Dargan, MD, FACS, is a retired cardio-thoracic surgeon and educator. Born
in Columbia, S.C., he earned a scholarship to Morehouse College at the age of 15.
He later graduated from the University of Buffalo with a BA in biology and from Howard
University College of Medicine with First Prize honors. Following his internship at
Brooklyn’s Kings County Hospital, he was chief resident at Albert Einstein College
of Medicine Bronx Municipal Hospital. Dargan served as US Air Force captain and commander
of the 3910th Hospital in Mildenhall/Lakenheath during the Korean War. He completed
cardiovascular and thoracic specialty training at Boston City Hospital, then returned
to New York to teach at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine as an associate professor
of surgery. He also served as chief of surgery at Sydenham Hospital, an executive
committee member of the medical staff at the Hospital for Joint Diseases, and chief
of surgery at Lincoln Hospital.
Dargan continued his deep commitments to providing quality medical care to military
veterans and to minority and underserved communities when he returned to Columbia
in 1978. He worked for decades at Dorn VA Medical Center, at Richland Memorial Hospital
as chief of staff, and as clinical associate professor at the School of Medicine.
He’s been recognized with the Order of the Palmetto, by Kappa Pi and Alpha Omega Alpha
medical honor societies, as a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, and received
a Congressional tribute from Congressman James Clyburn in 2005.
In 2005, the School of Medicine established a scholarship to recruit underrepresented
minority students to honor Dargan’s legacy as a teacher and physician. Understanding
how important scholarships are to recruiting talented minority students, Dargan personally
contributed a significant amount to seed the scholarship. The Dargan Scholarship supports
three students per year and enables the School of Medicine to attract and retain top-ranked
students. Dr. Dargan’s support of the School of Medicine’s educational mission significantly
impacts the lives of medical students, future physicians, and patients in South Carolina.