Dr. Reaner and Mr. Henry Shannon Endowed Lectureship in Minority Health

About the Event

Former Associate Dean for Cultural Enhancement and Diversity, Reaner Shannon, Ph.D., has a history of commitment to the School of Medicine and to the community by sponsoring minority health lectureships and coordinating programs for underserved students throughout the Kansas City area. When Dr. Shannon retired from the school in 2006 after more than three decades of service, she and her husband ensured the legacy of serving the minority community by establishing an endowment for the annual Dr. Reaner and Mr. Henry Shannon Lectureship in Minority Health to draw attention to disparities in health and healthcare. Through this lectureship, held the last Friday in February, medical professionals, students, residents and the local community gain access to information about timely issues that impact underserved and minority communities.

Shannon Lecture Tile

Our keynote speaker for the 20th annual lectureship is Dr. Jerome Adams, 20th Surgeon General of the United States. His presentation is titled “The Current State of Mental Health in America.

Event Details

Friday, February 27, 2026
12:00 PM
Theater A (or Zoom Meeting ID: 983 0432 8934 Passcode: 991096)
UMKC School of Medicine
2411 Holmes St., Kansas City, MO 64108

Watch Past Lectures

Shannon LECTURE PLAYLIST ON YOUTUBE

Past Keynote Speakers

Past Keynote SpeakersDr. Reaner and Mr. Henry Shannon Endowed Lectureship in Minority Health

2025 Michael R. DeBaun, MD, MPH, Immediate Past President of the American Pediatric Society; Professor and J.C. Peterson Endowed Chair of Pediatrics at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine; Founder/Director of Vanderbilt- Meharry Sickle Cell Disease Center of Excellence
2024 Qiana Thomason, MSW, President and CEO of Health Forward Foundation
2023 Tyler K. Smith, MD, MPH, Associate Dean of Inclusive Excellence in the Office of the Learning Environment, UMKC School of Medicine
2022 Michael L. Weaver, M.D., President, Mission Vision Project KC, Chairperson, Critical Mass Gathering
2021 Patrice Harris, M.D., past-president of the American Medical Association
2020 Meena Singh, M.D., Director, KMC Hair Center, Shawnee, Kansas
2019 Altha J. Stewart, M.D., President, the American Psychiatric Association
2018 Michael Moncure, M.D., Professor, Department of Surgery, UMKC School of Medicine
2017 Daphne Bascom, M.D., Ph.D, Senior Vice President of Community Integrated Health for the Greater Kansas City YMCA
2016 J. Nadine Gracia, M.D., M.S.C.E., Deputy Assistant Secretary, Minority Health and Director, Office of Minority Health at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
2015 Louis Sullivan, M.D., Former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services
2014 Henry B. Randall, M.D., F.A.C.S, director, Henry and Marion Block Liver Disease and Transplant Center, Kanas City
2013 Jose Manuel de la Rosa, M.D., vice president for health affairs at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center-El Paso and founding dean at the Paul L. Foster School of Medicine
2012 Karan Baucom, M.D., F.A.A.R.M., ’75, medical director for the Baucom Institute for Longevityand Life Enhancement
2011 Dr. Eve Higginbotham, Senior VP and Executive Dean, Health Sciences at Howard University
2010 Dr. Dana Thompson (’91), Professor, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine
2009 Dr. Nevada Lee, Medical Director, Continua Hospice and Bethlehem Home Health
2008 Dr. Gloria Wilder-Brathwaite, President/CEO, Core Health; Founder of Justice Speaks
2007 Dr. Tim Hickman, Associate Dean of Curriculum, UMKC School of Medicine
2006 Dr. Jocelyn Elders, former U.S. Surgeon General