Graduated Harvard Medical School Class of 1979
Eve Higginbotham, MD, was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. She studied chemical engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and earned both her undergraduate and master's degree. She earned her medical degree from Harvard Medical School in 1979.
Dr. Higginbotham specializes in ophthalmology and chaired the ophthalmology department at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. Later, she held positions as dean and senior vice president for academic affairs at Morehouse School of Medicine, and as senior vice president and executive dean for health sciences at Howard University. She is currently Vice Dean for Diversity and Inclusion at Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.
“And so, I remember those moments as times when I was really proud of my class, that there were people in my class that believed in social justice, who believed in something bigger than who we are.” (23:28)
“…it was just a horrible editorial. And it instantly kind of put me in this -- the spirit of wanting to fight back, to prove him wrong, to really raise a voice against this statement..” (16:20)
”And I just felt that ophthalmology…wasn’t ready for a woman chair...But I decided to take on the challenge, and became a chair at University of Maryland, and that gave me the opportunity to make a mark in my field, as the first woman to chair a university-based ophthalmology department.” (36:49)
”But Harvard Medical School has been a great launching pad in medicine. And I think, even if my experience wasn’t the most ideal, it certainly is irreplaceable as a secure launching pad into a career that I have enjoyed, over these last, almost 40 years, if you will.” (45:32)