Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science

Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science is a private, non-profit, Historically Black College and University and a Minority Serving Institution located in Willowbrook, unincorporated Los Angeles County, California, United States. It was founded in 1966 in response to inadequate medical facilities within the Watts region of Los Angeles, California, USA. Later, the institution became a University and changed its name in order to reflect its new academic role. The University is named in honor of Dr. Charles R. Drew. It was associated with the former-Martin Luther King Jr./Charles R. Drew Medical Center from 1972 to 2006, and sometimes referred to as King-Drew University.The university is a member-school of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund.On February 27, 2010 a U.S. Navy ship was named for Dr. Charles R. Drew, who revolutionized blood banking during World War II. A replica sits in the School of Nursing lobby.Academic programsThe university founded its medical school in the response to the 1965 Watts riots to train minority doctors who would serve the poor of the South Los Angeles area.