President M. Roy Wilson has been honored by the Detroit Medical Society (DMS) with its Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of his outstanding career as a physician, researcher and administrator, along with his commitment to improving health care in general and for underserved populations.

Wilson received the award in a room full of prominent African American physicians and community leaders at the Regency Manor and Banquet Center in Southfield. Founded in 1917, the DMS is one of the oldest and most revered Black health care organizations in America. It is affiliated with the National Medical Association, which serves as “the collective voice of African American physicians and the leading force for parity and justice in medicine and the elimination of disparities in health.”

In its resolution of honor, the DMS noted, “Dr. Wilson has been an outstanding teacher, lecturer, researcher and administrator in the fields of ophthalmology and medical education. … Dr. Wilson’s administration has overseen the significant increase of Black and minority student enrollment and graduation rates since his inauguration in 2013; and whereas Dr. Wilson’s administration has accomplished a sevenfold increase in Black and minority students in the university’s medical school, placing it in the top five producers of Black and minority physicians in the nation.”

Over its 105-year history, the DMS and its members have made many notable contributions, including building Black-owned hospitals, successfully integrating Detroit hospitals, advancing research and treatment of sickle cell disease, and serving as the driving force behind the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History — the world’s largest museum dedicated to African American culture.