As part of its annual Dean’s Distinguished Service Awards, the University of South Carolina School of Medicine Columbia presents the Friend of the School of Medicine Award to a member(s) or organization of the community whose service to the school has contributed to its mission. This year, interim dean Gerald Harmon, MD, is excited to honor two deserving awardees in South Carolina State Representative Bruce Bannister and State Senator Ronnie Cromer.
Both Rep. Bannister and Sen. Cromer have shown steadfast support for the university’s new Health Sciences Campus and the Brain Health Center, a pair of groundbreaking initiatives that will positively impact the future of health care in South Carolina and beyond.
“We are so appreciative of the support from Rep. Bannister and Sen. Cromer,” Harmon says. From concept to nearing the start of construction on both the new Health Sciences Campus and the Brain Health Center, these legislative leaders have been champions for these initiatives, which will impact the health of South Carolinians and leave an enormous legacy for our university and the School of Medicine Columbia.”
Through the leadership of Rep. Bannister and Sen. Cromer, who both serve on the Joint Bond Review Committee and hold important roles in the appropriations process, the General Assembly has provided a total of $210 million for the Health Sciences Campus, which will include the new School of Medicine Columbia facility, as well as the nearby Brain Health Center. This incredible investment eliminates the need for costly borrowing for the university and will improve health care in communities near and far through state-of-the-art facilities for education and research.
Representative Bannister, who was elected to the House of Representatives in 2005, serves as Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, and earned his law degree at the University of South Carolina in 1998. Senator Cromer, who was elected to the Senate in 2003, serves as Chairman of the Senate Finance Higher Education Subcommittee, and is a 1973 graduate of USC’s College of Pharmacy.
The 2024 Alumni and Dean’s Distinguished Service Awards Ceremony and Reception will be held the evening of Oct. 17, 2024, at the School of Medicine Columbia’s VA campus in the Building 3 courtyard. More information on the event will be announced soon.