EVMS statue pays tribute to incomparable Dr. L.D. Britt
On Friday, April 29, EVMS unveiled a bronze sculpture depicting surgeon L.D. Britt, MD, MPH, to honor the Suffolk native for his incomparable contributions to medical education, patient care, the field of surgery and the health of the people of Hampton Roads.
The 9-foot-tall, larger-than-life art is symbolic of the profound impact Dr. Britt has had over his long and illustrious career, says Alfred Abuhamad, MD, Interim EVMS President, Provost and Dean of the School of Medicine.
“Dr. Britt has devoted his entire professional life to addressing healthcare disparities, mentoring and serving others and delivering unparalleled patient care,” Dr. Abuhamad says. “Our hope is that each person who passes the statue will not only appreciate the work of this talented artist but understand the magnitude of Dr. Britt's lifelong dedication to healthcare, research and education.”
World-renowned artist Mario Chiodo is best known for his depictions of individuals who have made a difference in the world. His sculpture portrays Dr. Britt in a classic contemplative pose, the figure standing in the middle of railroad tracks that hint at his beginnings in a once segregated community; behind him a towering stack of books in the form of the DNA helix signify his success in medicine.
Dr. Britt says he is humbled by the statue on the lawn of Waitzer Hall. His hope is that it will serve as a source of pride and inspiration for the entire campus community.
“When people walk by, I hope they think about perseverance and excellence — the fact that you have an obligation to make your society better,” Dr. Britt says.
A graduate of the University of Virginia, Dr. Britt joined the EVMS faculty in 1986 after earning his medical degree and a Master of Public Health degree from Harvard. He is the Edward J. Brickhouse Chair in Surgery, and has served as Chair of EVMS Surgery since 1994 and Vice Dean for Clinical Affairs since 2021.Throughout his nearly 40-year career, Dr. Britt has worked tirelessly as a surgeon, educator, mentor and an internationally recognized leader in the world of surgery.
For the first 25 years of his career, Dr. Britt traveled to Suffolk every Tuesday to see patients, including some of his former schoolteachers, who couldn’t make it to Norfolk. The trips, he says, were a way for him to both stay connected with his past and better understand the current needs of the community.
“As a young man, I looked around my community, the segregated Jim Crow South, and I saw real struggles,” Dr. Britt says. “If my family members had to go to the doctor, they packed a lunch because getting to that appointment, being seen by a doctor, getting home — it would take hours. I knew something was wrong. The issue of healthcare disparities was our biggest challenge. It’s what drew me into medicine.
“We still have healthcare disparities. To be honest, that’s what keeps me in medicine.”
As a Black man who grew up in the segregated South, Dr. Britt pushed past social, economic and political barriers to earn many of the medical and surgical community’s highest honors and to serve in some of its most influential roles, including President of the American College of Surgeons (ACS). Among other achievements, Dr. Britt was the first EVMS physician to be named to the prestigious National Academy of Medicine. He also was the first Black surgeon to receive the ACS’ Lifetime Achievement award — an honor so prestigious that it has been given to only four other surgeons in the organization’s 108-year history.
Dr. Britt is the author of more than 220 peer-reviewed publications, more than 50 book chapters and non-peer-reviewed articles and three books. He serves on numerous editorial boards, including the Annals of Surgery, Archives of Surgery, World Journal of Surgery and the Journal of the American College of Surgeons, among others. In addition, he is a reviewer for the New England Journal of Medicine.
A member of Alpha Omega Alpha, Dr. Britt also is the recipient of the nation’s highest teaching award in medicine, the Robert J. Glaser Distinguished Teaching Award. He was honored by the Association of Surgical Education with its lifetime achievement award, the Distinguished Educator Award. More than 190 institutions throughout the world have invited him to be their distinguished visiting professor.
A prolific researcher, Dr. Britt was awarded a $2.5 million grant in 2017 from the National Institutes of Health on behalf of the ACS to address healthcare disparities.
At EVMS, his work around disparities is furthered by the Britt Endowment for Diversity and Health Equity. The endowment, which enhances diversity and inclusion efforts at EVMS and draws attention to the important work of addressing healthcare disparities, was realized through two major gifts to the EVMS Deliver on the Promise Campaign from both the Hampton Roads Community Foundation and The Oliver Fund, a donor-advised fund established by Frances Martin Lindsay.
The diversity, equity and inclusion funding activities for EVMS faculty, staff and students includes educational programming, training; service opportunities; curriculum enhancement through grants; and student scholarships. These are all initiatives identified as priorities in the EVMS Strategic Plan for Advancing Health Equity and Inclusion for Community and Academic Impact.
The terrace on which the scultpture of Dr. Britt will stand has been named the L.D. Britt, MD, MPH Terrace in honor of his extraordinary contributions and to draw attention to the important work being done through the Britt Endowment for Diversity and Health Equity.
Dr. Britt’s most enduring legacy, however, centers on his dedication to three core areas: providing expert patient care, educating the next generation of providers and improving the health of the entire Hampton Roads community.
“My greatest honor is taking care of patients,” Dr. Britt says. “There’s nothing better than getting patients the surgical and medical interventions they need. A close second to that, for me, is teaching.”
Watch a video and see additional photos from the day. Find out more about Dr. Britt's life and career.