College of Medicine

Consistent with a career in which she has held numerous leadership positions and maintained a compassionate heart, Alma Littles has been identified by Black Health Magazine as one of the country's Top 15 Most Influential African American Medical Educators.

The list appears in the magazine's Sixth Annual Commemorative Black History Month issue.

"The focus is on medical educators creating a legacy for future generations of African American doctors and health professionals," said magazine publisher Marcus Oaks. "These 15 individuals have demonstrated through their body of work, education and lifetime achievements what it takes to make history and are carving cornerstones for our children and grandchildren."

Littles grew up in the small nearby town of Quincy and was the first in her family to go to college. She graduated from the University of Florida College of Medicine in 1986 and became a family physician in her hometown. In 1989, she began her career in medical education, serving as a preceptor to medical students and residents in her rural practice.

"I was encouraged by my parents, teachers and others to reach beyond what I saw in my community growing up and to aspire to something greater. I was also admonished to never forget where I came from and to remember that there would always be others who need a helping hand or a word of encouragement," Littles said.

"I have carried those sentiments with me throughout my own education and career paths. Therefore, knowing that just one student might benefit from my achievements and be encouraged to reach higher goals themselves provides me with a great sense of pride and motivates me to continue doing what I do. Not for individual recognition, but because I know that my students and mentees will ultimately do much more for society than I could ever do alone."

Littles, who graduated from the family medicine residency program at Tallahassee Memorial Hospital, was named Family Physician of the Year in 1993 by the Florida Academy of Family Physicians (FAFP). She became a faculty member of the family medicine residency program in 1996 and three years later was named the program's director.

That same year she was elected president of the FAFP.

In 2002, Littles joined the FSU College of Medicine as chair of the Department of Family Medicine and Rural Health.

"She has throughout her career personified the best of our medical profession and has taught and influenced a generation of local physicians at the medical school and residency level," said College of Medicine Dean J. Fogarty. "There could be no better role model of the ethical and compassionate physician who looks at all patients, rich or poor, with the same patient-focused care and skill."
 

Black Health Magazine - Top 15 Most Influential African American Medical Educators

1. Dr. Ingrid Allard – Associate Dean for Community Outreach and Medical Education, Associate Professor of Medical Education and Pediatrics, Albany Medical College
2. Dr. Sheryl Allen – Associate Dean and Professor of Clinical Emergency Medicine and Pediatrics Indiana University School of Medicine
3. Dr. Carol Brown – Associate Attending Surgeon, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Associate Professor OB-GYN, Cornell University Weill Medical College
4. Dr. Gary Butts - Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer for the Mount Sinai Health System and Senior Associate Dean for Diversity Programs, Policy and Community Affairs for the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
5. Dr. Andre Churchwell – Professor of Medicine (Cardiology), Professor of Radiology and Radiological Sciences, Professor of Biomedical Engineering, and Associate Dean for Diversity, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine
6. Dr. Carol Storey-Johnson – Senior Associate Dean of Education, Weill Cornell Medical College
7. Dr. Mark Johnson – Dean of the College of Medicine, Howard University School of Medicine
8. Dr. Robert Johnson – Dean of New Jersey Medical School, a unit of Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
9. Dr. Byron Joyner – Professor of Urology and Associate Dean for Graduate Medical Education, University of Washington School of Medicine
10. Dr. Alma Littles – Chief Academic Officer, Florida State University College of Medicine
11. Dr. Albert Reece – Vice President of Medical Affairs and Dean of Medicine, University of Maryland School of Medicine
12. Dr. Joan Reede – Dean for Diversity and Community Partnership and Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School
13. Dr. Anne Taylor – Vice Dean for Academic Affairs, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons
14. Dr. Hannah Valantine – Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine and the Senior Associate Dean for Diversity and Leadership, Stanford School of Medicine
15. Dr. Clyde Yancy – Magerstadt Professor of Medicine, Professor of Medical Social Sciences, and Chief of Cardiology, Northwestern Memorial Hospital and Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Associate Director of Clinical Programs, Northwestern Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute