Friends, colleagues, protégés and family members gathered in the Shiffman Medical Library last week for a tribute to Silas Norman Jr., M.D., Class of 1976, the Wayne State University School of Medicine's former associate dean for Admissions, Diversity and Inclusion.

The tribute to Dr. Norman, who died July 17, 2015, at the age of 74, included a performance by the Brazeal Dennard Chorale, of which he was a member.

A number of speakers addressed the various phases of Dr. Norman's life and his many contributions.

"Dr. Norman was a driving force for diversity, fairness and compassion for the underserved," Dean Jack D. Sobel, M.D., told the audience. "There are many hundreds of people who will never forget Dr. Norman's contributions to their success in medical school and in life. He was a gentle giant with a caring soul who was unafraid to stand up for others. Our current and future students would do well to learn more about Dr. Norman and to emulate his spirit."

Gloria House, Ph.D., professor emerita of Humanities and African-American studies for Wayne State University and the University of Michigan, spoke of the many obstacles that Dr. Norman and she confronted and overcame in Alabama as members of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. Dr. Norman faced many dangers, she said, as SNCC state coordinator, especially in convincing sharecropping African-Americans to register and then vote.

"He had the grace and dignity of a diplomat," she said. "He continued that work when he came to Michigan because he did not believe that social justice was on the side of the poor and the disenfranchised."

Harry Maisel, M.D., retired professor of Anatomy and Cell Biology for the School of Medicine, spoke of Dr. Norman's staunch support for the school's Post Baccalaureate Program, to assist underrepresented minorities in medicine in finding careers in medical fields. "He had battles to fight, and he fought them," Dr. Maisel said. "If a student was in need, he opened his own wallet and never expected anything in return. I miss him."

Also touching on the Post Baccalaureate Program, Joseph Dunbar, Ph.D., WSU professor of Physiology and associate vice president for Research, said Dr. Norman personally read every one of the 3,000 to 4,000 applications submitted for the program annually. "He did not want to miss that diamond that should be given the opportunity to be successful," Dr. Dunbar said.

The Brazeal Dennard Chorale, for which Dr. Norman sang bass, performed three arrangements, "Alleluia," "I Know I've Been Changed" and "Fare Ye Well."

Others who spoke on Dr. Norman's many contributions to the underserved included Victor Green, WSU director of Community Affairs; Eric Ayers, M.D., WSU assistant professor of Internal Medicine and director of the Med Peds Program; and Dayna LePlatte-Ogini, M.D., a graduate of the WSU School of Medicine and clinical instructor for the University of Michigan Department of Psychiatry.