Will Turner ’94 is a practicing hospitalist and Associate Professor of Medicine at Columbia University Irving Medical Center in New York City. Born and raised in Brooklyn, he completed his undergraduate studies in Black Studies and Biology at Amherst College and received his medical degree from Mount Sinai Medical School in New York City. After completing his residency and chief residency in internal medicine at NYP/Columbia in 2002 Dr. Turner joined the faculty of Columbia University’s Vagelos School of Physicians and Surgeons where he is an Assistant Dean for Student Affairs and Faculty Advisor for the Black and Latino Student Organization (BALSO) and has clinical and research interests in medical education and diversity in medicine.
William Turner ’94
Q. What impact do you hope to have through your career?
A. Taking care of and serving patients every day on the front lines of an otherwise underserved and vulnerable
neighborhood, has been incredibly exhilarating and a true honor to for me, and I hope to continue this for
decades to come. After patient care, my passion is to educate, mentor, and recruit medical students,
particularly from groups historically underrepresented in medicine. One thing that Amherst really taught me
well is that we truly stand on the shoulders of giants and I think of Drs. Charles Drew and Montague Cobb
among others every and it helps to center me and contextualize how I can still have an impact.