(Philadelphia,
PA) -- The Rev. Dr. William J. Shaw, Pastor of
White Rock Baptist Church in West Philadelphia and a
nationally recognized spiritual leader, has been re-appointed
Chair of the Board of the Hospital of the University
of Pennsylvania (HUP), a position to which he was
first named in October 2000.
"Our hospital family holds the Rev. Dr. Shaw in
the highest regard, and the larger community of Philadelphia
recognizes him as a distinguished motivator and spiritual
leader," said Garry L. Scheib, Senior Vice
President for Hospital Operations for the University
of Pennsylvania Health System (UPHS) and Executive Director
of HUP. "The Rev. Dr. Shaw has contributed his
time and wisdom to HUP in various roles for more than
20 years, and I'm grateful that he will remain in his
pivotal role here."
In fact, the Rev. Dr. Shaw's role in Penn's affairs
have expanded. The Rev. Dr. Shaw will also serve on
the board of Penn Medicine, which is the new governing
body for Penn's Health System and School of Medicine.
"I'm pleased to continue working with HUP, especially
in representing community needs and concerns. The hospital
has long been a stable presence in Philadelphia, and
over the years of my affiliation with HUP, I've seen
it emerge as one of the leading health care providers
in the nation, based on quality patient care, state-of-the-art
innovation, and its sustained commitment to the community's
medical issues," the Rev. Dr. Shaw said.
As well as serving as Chair of the HUP trustees board,
the Rev. Dr. Shaw has chaired the hospital's Human Resources
Subcommittee and served on its Long-Range Planning Committee.
His other civic affiliations include a seat on the Board
of Directors of Junior Achievement of Delaware Valley,
Inc., and membership in the Philadelphia Rotary; Martin
Luther King, Jr. Fellows in Black Church Studies; Community
Legal Services of Philadelphia, and the Airport Advisory
Board.
But it is his tireless work and outreach ministry as
pastor of Philadelphia's White Rock Baptist Church since
1956 that forms the basis for the Rev. Dr. Shaw's local
stature and national prominence. In 1999 the Rev. Dr.
Shaw was elected to a five-year term as president of
the National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc., which is
the largest organized body of African Americans in America.
The Rev. Dr. Shaw was ordained pastor of the Oak Hill
Baptist Church in his native Texas at the age of 17.
He was graduated summa cum laude from Bishop College
in 1954, and went on to attend the prestigious Union
Theological Seminary in New York City, where he majored
in Christian Ethics and, in 1957, was awarded a degree
equivalent to today's master of divinity degree. He
earned his doctor of ministry degree from Colgate Rochester
Divinity School/Bexley Hall/Crozer Theological Seminary
in Rochester, NY., in 1976.
Other members of HUP's Board of Trustees are Felicia
Lemonick, Chair of HUP's Board of Women Visitors;
Michael A. Grippi, MD, Chair of the Medical Board;
Arthur H. Rubenstein, MBBCh, Executive Vice President
of the University of Pennsylvania for the Health System
and Dean of the School of Medicine; Robert D. Martin,
PhD, Chief Executive Officer of the University of
Pennsylvania Health System, and Mr. Scheib.
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Penn Medicine is one of the world’s leading academic medical centers, dedicated to the related missions of medical education, biomedical research, excellence in patient care, and community service. The organization consists of the University of Pennsylvania Health System and Penn’s Raymond and Ruth Perelman School of Medicine, founded in 1765 as the nation’s first medical school.
The Perelman School of Medicine is consistently among the nation's top recipients of funding from the National Institutes of Health, with $550 million awarded in the 2022 fiscal year. Home to a proud history of “firsts” in medicine, Penn Medicine teams have pioneered discoveries and innovations that have shaped modern medicine, including recent breakthroughs such as CAR T cell therapy for cancer and the mRNA technology used in COVID-19 vaccines.
The University of Pennsylvania Health System’s patient care facilities stretch from the Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania to the New Jersey shore. These include the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, Chester County Hospital, Lancaster General Health, Penn Medicine Princeton Health, and Pennsylvania Hospital—the nation’s first hospital, founded in 1751. Additional facilities and enterprises include Good Shepherd Penn Partners, Penn Medicine at Home, Lancaster Behavioral Health Hospital, and Princeton House Behavioral Health, among others.
Penn Medicine is an $11.1 billion enterprise powered by more than 49,000 talented faculty and staff.