Sorensen awarded honorary doctorate from MUSC

University of South Carolina President Andrew Sorensen was awarded an honorary doctor of medical science degree Thursday (April 10) from the Medical University of South Carolina.

The award was made during MUSC’s Board of Trustees dinner.

Sorensen, the outgoing president of the university, was cited for his vision and leadership, for promoting the academic ascendancy of the University of South Carolina in areas such as nanoscience and fuel cells and for building critical partnerships with other institutions, including Health Sciences South Carolina.

He is the only University of South Carolina president to be awarded an honorary doctorate from MUSC.

After a new president is named, Sorensen will return to teaching and research at the university, capping a six-year tenure as president and a distinguished career as a scholar, administrator and professor. He has held academic posts at numerous universities, including Lincoln University, Harvard University, Cornell University and the University of Rochester.

He also served as provost at the University of Florida, president of the University of Alabama, dean of the School of Public Health at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and executive director of the AIDS Institute at Johns Hopkins University.

Sorensen also will receive an honorary doctorate from the University of Illinois in May.