ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT: Dr. William Crump ’71 makes major gift to endow BC creative writing program

Dr. William Crump, Benedictine Military School Class of 1971, made a major gift to endow a creative writing program at BC named Crump Humanism in Medicine Exposition (CHIME). In his proposal to BC he wrote, “CHIME completion demonstrates a commitment to understanding premedical sciences necessary for success combined with study of meaning in the doctor/patient relationship informed by medical history.”

Crump has been a professor and associate dean at the University of Louisville School of Medicine Trover Campus since 1998. He earned his MD from Vanderbilt University School of Medicine and completed his residency in family practice at the University of Alabama-Birmingham. Crump earned a bachelor’s degree in zoology from the University of Georgia in 1975 but realized his “thirst for knowledge” had grown beyond ecology, so he decided to pursue a medical degree.

“The Latrobe (Pa.) priests that were here (at BC) before, they used the phrase ‘thirst for knowledge,’” said Crump, who visited BC on Oct. 25. “Is that still used here? That was just beaten into my brain. Somehow, it worked. I had very small horizons from not a well-resourced family. We did OK. (Lived on) 51^st Street. And then it was just like a lightbulb went off.

“We had a contemporary problems class and TIME magazine was our textbook,” he continued. “We had someone who had left the priesthood, who came back and taught some of that class. He also taught Latin. I took two years of Latin. The BC of that time was not about boundaries. It was look at this, look at that. What cranks your tractor? You know, what gets you going? Fr. Bryant taught English, and everything I just covered, that’s him. You could not be a Cadet, you could not be a man of BC, unless you understood the classics, unless you understood the history, that everybody is who they are based on their upbringing. He did a very good job. And humanism at every turn. The faith part of it was important but my faith was already strong.”

In 2022, Crump published his first book, “Savannah’s Hoodoo Doctor: The Tyranny of Dogma,” which contrasts his modern medical training with the healing traditions of the West African and indigenous American peoples around Savannah. Crump pairs his years of experience with the sights, smells, and sounds of the coastal southeast to create a backdrop that accompanies the protagonist on his quest for knowledge and forgiveness.

"When I finally got around to writing my long-simmering book, I realized how important my time at BC was as I told my story,” Crump said. “That time played a key role in my life. Financially, I would not be where I was, and where I am, without BC and Georgia. Most people, in today’s dollars, end up with a debt of about $240,000 at the end of medical school.”

While visiting BC, Crump gave a presentation to Advanced Placement Biology students in BC teacher Dr. Adell Sheahan’s classroom. Later, he met with BC Headmaster Fr. Frank Ziemkiewicz, O.S.B., and BC Director of Curriculum Mr. Peter Newman in the media center, where a ‘book nook’ was dedicated in his honor.

“A physical (not digital) ‘book nook’ is required for scholar use with small holdings not typically found in an existing library,” he said. “The scholars will bring recognition as an innovative institution committed to truly interdisciplinary education, combining creative writing with pre-medical disciplines. As the scholars enter professional schools, graduates will distinguish themselves creating an easier path for subsequent school graduates when they apply. The ‘book nook’ is important to me. So much of learning is digital and it’s not linear. Well, when you sit down with a book, especially my books, you’ve got to have the discipline, and it forces a way of learning that I think is important.

“I want them to hold a book in their hands,” Crump continued. “Not just my books. The other books I sent to Peter (Newman) are the authoritative books that I used for research. There’s a couple of really well-done Savannah history books. That’s the idea with the ‘book nook.’ I literally sat up in the middle of the night and thought, ‘Get other alums (to donate their favorite books)!’ We all have had at least one book that changed the trajectory of our life. Maybe it’s a Dr. Seuss book when you were a kid. At the point of your life when you’re ready to give back to an educational institution, legacy is too pompous, but everybody wants to leave something. The idea, which you guys need to take and use it, whenever you get ready to give – the annual giving, it doesn’t have to be an endowment – with that gift, give a book.”

As part of the CHIME program, Crump, an experienced medical educator and writer of historical medical fiction, will be available to Cadets and faculty at no cost to the school.

“Health career professional schools are now committed to holistic admissions,” he said. “This means that beyond scores and grades, admissions committees are seeking applicants who bring a breadth of experiences and interests to enrich their admitted class. CHIME completion demonstrates a commitment to understanding pre-medical sciences necessary for success combined with study of meaning in the doctor/patient relationship informed by medical history.”

Cadet essays will be published in journals and, ultimately, in a book similar to “Pathways to Patients: Student essays seeking meaning in early experiences with patients,” edited by Crum, that includes essays by medical students at all levels of training.

Crump said he will work with BC’s CHIME directors to develop a syllabus, and he will schedule his regular participation in the CHIME Scholar essay writing process. This could include quarterly in-person sessions at BC and more frequent virtual mentoring sessions for Cadets and BC faculty.

“The reason why I’m doing this is because (BC) and UGA in Athens prepared me so well. I got a full-endowed scholarship to Vanderbilt medical school. There’s no way I could have afforded that. I finished medical school debt-free, which is pretty unusual. When I was moonlighting in emergency rooms, the money I made, I hadn’t touched. This was in 1981. I just put that money aside. Some of it, I put in an IRA, which was really smart. So, I quit doing deliveries. I’ve got a little extra time. I’m in good health. It’s time to give back.”