College of Medicine alumnus, U.S. Navy veteran W. Melvin Brown, III, M.D. serving 6th district
W. Melvin Brown, the newest member of the MUSC Board of Trustees
Charleston, SC — The Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) is pleased to welcome W. Melvin Brown, III, M.D., to the MUSC Board of Trustees, effective May 2. Brown represents the 6th Congressional district of South Carolina, which includes all of Allendale, Bamberg, Barnwell, Clarendon, Colleton, Hampton and Williamsburg counties and parts of Beaufort, Berkeley, Calhoun, Charleston, Dorchester, Georgetown, Orangeburg, Richland and Sumter counties.“I served my country for 20 years in the naval service. Now I look forward to the opportunity to serve my home state,” Brown said.
Brown currently works as an emergency room physician in urban, rural, retirement and federal hospital settings, including the four hospitals under Trident Medical Center and as a part-time staff member at the Ralph A. Johnson V.A. Medical Center in the Charleston area, Lexington Medical Center in Columbia, and Waccamaw Community Hospital in Murrell’s Inlet. He also serves as an instructor for the oral board preparation course sponsored by the American Academy of Emergency Medicine.
He earned his bachelor’s degree in engineering from the United States Naval Academy in 1991, a master’s degree in education with a concentration in biology from The Citadel College of Graduate Studies in 1999, and his doctorate in medicine from MUSC in 2002. He completed an emergency medicine residency while serving as an active duty naval officer at the Naval Medical Center in Portsmouth, VA.
While on active duty from 1991 through 2015, Brown served as engineering division officer at the Naval Education and Training center in Newport, Rhode Island, and on the USS Sierra (Charleston) and the USS Hawes (Norfolk, Virginia). He was medical officer on the USS Carter Hall (Little Creek, Virginia) in 2008, and served as medical director of a shock trauma unit with the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force, Hemland province, Afghanistan. He was also director of emergency medicine at the U.S. Naval Hospital in Yokosuka, Japan. His final tour was as a staff physician at the U.S. Naval Hospital in Jacksonville, Florida in 2010. For most of 2014, Brown was stationed as a trauma team leader at a military base in Kumar Province, Afghanistan with Joint Special Operations. He retired from active duty in 2015.
“The Medical University of South Carolina Board of Trustees welcomes Dr. Brown and looks forward to the knowledge and expertise he will bring MUSC as an alumnus, physician, and veteran,” said Mark Sweatman, Board of Trustees secretary.
Brown received 10 medals for various commendations and achievements while serving in the U.S. Navy. He is a fellow of the Academy of Academic Emergency Medicine, a member of the South Carolina Medical Association, and has served on the board of directors for the Star Gospel Mission as well as Porter-Gaud School.
About MUSC
Founded in 1824 in Charleston, The Medical University of South Carolina is the oldest medical school in the South. Today, MUSC continues the tradition of excellence in education, research, and patient care. MUSC educates and trains more than 3,000 students and 700 residents in six colleges (Dental Medicine, Graduate Studies, Health Professions, Medicine, Nursing, and Pharmacy), and has nearly 14,000 employees, including approximately 1,500 faculty members. As the largest non-federal employer in Charleston, the university and its affiliates have collective annual budgets in excess of $2.4 billion, with an annual economic impact of more than $3.8 billion and annual research funding in excess of $250 million. MUSC operates a 700-bed medical center, which includes a nationally recognized children’s hospital, the Ashley River Tower (cardiovascular, digestive disease, and surgical oncology), Hollings Cancer Center (a National Cancer Institute-designated center), Level I trauma center, Institute of Psychiatry, and the state’s only transplant center. In 2017, for the third consecutive year, U.S. News & World Report named MUSC Health the number one hospital in South Carolina. For more information on academic programs or clinical services, visit www.musc.edu. For more information on hospital patient services, visit www.muschealth.org.
PRESS CONTACT:
Heather Woolwine
843-792-7669
woolwinh@musc.edu