Equity Through Empathy with Dr. Wayne Frederick

On Tuesday, October 21, 2025, Dr. Wayne Frederick presented a keynote lecture on "Equity Through Empathy: The Human Side of Health Leadership" at Harvard Medical School for the 2025 Schlager Visiting Professor Lectureship, sponsored by Mass General Brigham’s Department of Surgery.  

Wayne A. I. Frederick, MD, MBA, FACS, was appointed interim president of Howard University in September 2025. A proud alumnus and distinguished surgeon, scholar, and leader, he also holds the titles of president emeritus as the University’s 17th president, and Charles R. Drew Professor of Surgery at the Howard University College of Medicine. 

During the gathering of HMS faculty, fellows, students, and staff, Dr. Frederick spoke about the vital role of empathy in healthcare and education, drawing from his own experience as a patient living with sickle cell disease. He provided insight on how leading with empathy encompasses a strategic approach to human-centered leadership. Dr. Frederick shed light on the stark disparities in life expectancy across racial and socioeconomic lines in Washington, D.C., 

He urged the importance of beginning every interaction with a “full bank of trust” rather than requiring others to earn it, and called on all to amplify one another’s humanity through empathy.

The Harvard Medical School Office for Culture and Community Engagement co-sponsored the lecture in partnership with Mass General Brigham’s Department of Surgery and the Office for Engagement and Enrichment within the Center for Academic Development and Enrichment. The talk was held in the Waterhouse Room of Gordon Hall on the HMS Campus.