Meharry Medical College has always upheld the philosophy of “serving the underserved” and strived to make this their greatest legacy during its 144-year existence. According to Forbes, its legacy has been threatened by the student loan debt enemy that impacts close to 930 students that attend Meharry across its three schools. This year (2020), the school of medicine’s graduating class averaged $285,743 in debt. The American business magazine also reports that not only is student loan debt a challenge but Historically Black Colleges and Universities, who receive 70 percent less in endowments than non-HBCUs, are historically underfunded. “We have to live up to the same standards as the other 170 medical schools,” said Dr. James E.K. Hildreth, Meharry’s president on the topic of accreditation. “There’s this assumption that somehow we’re different because we happen to be predominately Black,” Dr. Hildreth said. “I’m not diminishing the HBCU part because it is special, and we want to...