David Satcher is a distinguished American physician, educator, public health leader, and administrator. He was born in Anniston, Alabama on March 2, 1941, to Wilmer and Anne Satcher. A 1963 graduate of Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia, Satcher then earned both an M.D. and a Ph.D. in cytogenetics from Case Western Reserve University in 1970. The awarding of these degrees marked the beginning of a long and impactful career in medicine and public service.
Satcher began his academic career in 1979 as a professor and later chair of the Department of Community Medicine and Family Practice at the Morehouse School of Medicine. In the early 1980s, he joined the faculty at the UCLA School of Medicine and Public Health and the Martin Luther King Jr./Charles R. Drew Medical Center in Los Angeles. There, he founded and led the Department of Family Medicine and played a pivotal role in establishing a joint medical education program between King/Drew and UCLA, focusing on sickle cell research and community health.
In 1982, Satcher became president of Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tennessee, serving for five years and strengthening the institution’s reputation as a leading historically Black medical school.
Satcher began his federal public health career in 1988 and over that time he would serve in several top leadership roles. From 1993 to 1998, he was Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Administrator of the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. Under his leadership, the CDC addressed emerging health threats and strengthened immunization and disease prevention efforts nationwide.
In 1998, President Bill Clinton appointed Satcher the 16th Surgeon General of the United States and Assistant Secretary for Health, making him the second person in U.S. history to hold both roles simultaneously. He was also the third African American to serve as Surgeon General. Holding the military rank of Vice Admiral in the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, Satcher used his platform to advocate for health equity, especially for underserved populations, and to raise awareness around mental health, sexual health, and racial disparities in healthcare. He remained in office until 2002, serving through part of President George W. Bush’s administration.
Throughout his career, Satcher has received numerous honors, including 18 honorary degrees. His many awards include the Breslow Award in Public Health (1995), the New York Academy of Medicine Lifetime Achievement Award (1997), the Bennie Mays Trailblazer Award (1999), and the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Humanitarian Award (2001). He has also been recognized by leading professional organizations such as the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Family Physicians.
He is a member of prestigious medical societies, including the National Academy of Medicine (formerly the Institute of Medicine), the American College of Physicians, the American Academy of Family Physicians, and the American College of Preventive Medicine.
Satcher resides in Bethesda, Maryland, with his wife, Nola. They have four children. He is a member of Sigma Pi Phi fraternity and remains an influential voice in public health, health policy, and medical education.
