A trendsetter and a visionary, Dr. James “Butch” Rosser has always tried to help the underserved and disenfranchised segments of society. He’s a physician, scholar, educator and philanthropist. Currently a professor of surgery at Morehouse School of Medicine, Rosser is way ahead of the game with respect to using cutting-edge science and technology-related activities to treat disease and educate.
“I came up a dreamer and was born on a plantation in the Delta of Mississippi. My grandparents were the most uneducated people I knew, but they could read,” Rosser says regarding his upbringing. “They both had 5th grade educations, but they were the ones who taught me to dream.”
Their guidance has certainly paid off. Rosser earned a bachelor’s in chemistry and biology from the University of Mississippi and obtained his medical degree from the University of Mississippi Medical School.
Despite his scholarly achievements, Rosser faced many obstacles. While on family practice rotation, he wasn’t allowed to see white patients. In his hometown, he was forced to treat black patients in a closet. And he faced much discrimination because he weighed more than 450 pounds.
Despite those unfortunate circumstances, Rosser spent nine years at Yale University and then moved to Albert Einstein University and Beth Israel Hospital where he fined-tuned his craft. He decided to join the faculty at Morehouse School of Medicine because he “wanted to impact the world globally” and establish “a sense of purpose and legacy.”
Now, Rosser has another title to add to his already distinguished career: president of the Society of Laparoendoscopic Surgeons (SLS), the largest society of its kind in North America. He’s the first African American to be named president of the society. He’s also the founder of Modern Day Miracle, a nonprofit organization that allows him to focus on his other love — education.
“The problem has always been perceived barriers and being told from an earlier age [that we] cannot be doctors and scientists, plus we do not see that many African American faces in these fields,” he said. “We have not put a focus on education in the sciences as a nation. This is a nationwide crisis [and] we have to turn [it] around.” –torrance stephens, ph.d.
