As Assistant Dean for Diversity and Inclusion at the University of Southern California, Dr. Althea Alexander spends her time speaking in high school classrooms across the United States, identifying untapped talent among Black and brown students in hopes of guiding them toward the medical field.
She mentors minority medical students and seeks to improve the school’s efforts to recruit diverse students. Her work spanned five decades and paid off tenfold: She influenced the career paths of hundreds who went on to become medical school deans, CEOs and even California’s surgeon general.
Alexander, 89, died of a cerebral hemorrhage on July 17, according to Alexander’s daughter, Kim Alexander-Brettler. Alexander-Brettler said her mother developed a deep and lasting relationship with her, driven by a passion for civil rights and a sincerity in helping young people better themselves and their communities.
“It’s not something she has to practice,” Brettler said. “It comes from her soul. Her devotion is natural.
Alexander came to USC in 1968 and became the first female and black faculty member. At the time, there were one black and one Latino medical student enrolled. Alexander tried to change that. USC estimates that by her retirement in 2019, she had impacted the lives of at least 800 minority students at the Keck School of Medicine.
In 1969, she became the first dean of the Department of Minority Affairs, which later became the Office of Diversity and Inclusion. In 1992, she told The Times that she believed students of color were never told they had the intelligence, ability or sensitivity to become doctors, and she wanted to instill that in them as early as possible.
She speaks at high schools and encourages students to stay connected. She promises students and their families that if they put in the effort, she will do her best to help them find a place in medical school.
“We have to train young people to contribute to society,” she told The Times. “If someone would sponsor kindergarten for us, I would do it.”
Among them is Dr. Diana E. Ramos, who was a high school student heading to USC when she met Althea and her husband, Fredric Undergraduate studies. During an annual physical, Ramos met a nurse practitioner who introduced her to her boss, Frederick, after learning she wanted to become a doctor. He introduced her to his wife, an assistant dean at the USC School of Medicine, and from then on Althea became a guiding force for Ramos, a South Central native and the first child in his family. A person who goes to college. Ramos graduated from the University of Southern California School of Medicine in 1994.
“Whenever I wanted to give up or just needed some pep talk, she was always there,” said Ramos, who became California’s surgeon general in 2022. When Ramos took over with a lingering sense of inadequacy When offered the position, Alexander calmed those doubts, telling her she was right for the job. “Of course,” her mentor told her. “Why not you?”
At USC, Alexander pushed for admissions to consider non-traditional experiences in addition to grades and test scores, such as considering an applicant’s work and family history. She and her family hosted dozens of students at their home, often for months at a time. Alexander helped others pay their rent and bought cars for those who couldn’t afford them so they could go to school, Alexander-Brettler said.
Alexander is also influential nationally and internationally, with many USC students going on to study across the country. At a memorial service held Saturday, former students shared stories of her impact on their lives, and speakers shared how Alexander encouraged them to come to the United States from China to expand their medical education.
She doesn’t shy away from speaking out about racism in medicine. She previously told The Times how she sought help at USC Medical Center in Los Angeles County after breaking her arm. A white attending resident told her to “hold your arm like you would normally hold a beer can on a Saturday night.”
“What are you talking about?” she asked. “Do you think I’m a welfare mom?”
She told students they would certainly face the same problem.
“This is not a utopia,” Alexander would say. “You are who you are. … You can’t die on every mountain here. If someone makes a racist comment in class, you can’t spend all your energy on it. Stand up for your principles and deal with it. Say, ‘I don’t Like this. “Then, move on.
A passionate advocate for civil rights, she joined protesters at the 1970 East Los Angeles protests and hung a United Farm Workers flag signed by Cesar Chavez in her office.
Alexander had known her husband, Frederick Eugene, since they were children because their parents were union organizers. But in 1959, a young civil rights leader named Martin Luther King Jr. reintroduced both. Fredric and Althea were married at the Unitarian Church in downtown Los Angeles. Fredric passed away in 2009.
Althea Alexander was born on March 16, 1935 in Berkeley. In addition to her daughter, she is survived by her son, Sean Alexander, and granddaughters, Danielle Brettler and Lauren Brettler.
Alexander loved music and developed a habit of attending live performances. Alexander-Brettler recalled one of Prince’s concerts at the Forum, which was close to midnight, and begging her mother to leave because she had work the next day. But Alexander insisted they complete all four songs during Prince’s encore, dancing the entire time. To conclude Saturday’s memorial service, the USC marching band performed.
“This is the icing on the cake,” Alexander Brettler said. “We ended up having a party there.”
Alexander’s legacy lives on: In 1997, a USC alumnus established the Althea Alexander Endowed Scholarship Fund to support minority medical students. A group of students established the Althea and Fredric Alexander Student Support Fund to provide financial support for the professional development of medical students, and donations may be made in her memory.
