Dr. Harold Dadford West, Sr.

In 1927, Dr. West came to Meharry Medical College as Associate Professor of Chemistry. A 1930 Julius Rosenwald Fellowship Recipient and a 1935 Fellow of the General Education Board, he returned to Meharry to serve as the first Ph. D on faculty as Professor and Chairman of the Biochemistry Department. In 1952, Dr. West was elected Meharry's first Black American President. At that time, more than 50 percent of the Black American physicians and dentists practicing in the U.S. were Meharry Medical College graduates. Dr. West resigned from the presidency in 1966 and continued his research, teaching, and writing until his death in 1974.