Dr. Carson - Carson Scholars Fund

Raised by a single mother, young Benjamin Carson experienced dire poverty throughout his childhood. With the never-ending support of his mother, who had only a third-grade education herself, he developed a love of reading. His mother firmly believed that education and faith in the Lord were the channels that would change the course of her boys’ lives and end the cycle of poverty for her family. After graduating from Yale University, Dr. Carson earned his M.D. from the University of Michigan Medical School.

For nearly 30 years, Dr. Carson served as Director of Pediatric Neurosurgery at the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center. He assumed this position when he was just 33 years old, making him the youngest major division director in the hospital’s history. In 1987, he successfully performed the first separation of craniopagus twins conjoined at the back of the head. He also performed the first fully successful separation of type-2 vertical craniopagus twins in 1997 in South Africa.

Dr. Carson received dozens of honors and awards in recognition of his achievements including:

• the Presidential Medal of Freedom awarded by President George W. Bush
• the Spingarn Medal presented by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the highest honor of the NAACP
• recognition by U.S. News Media Group and Harvard’s Center for Public Leadership as one of “America’s Best Leaders”
• recognition by the Gallup Organization as one of the 10 Most Admired Men in the World
• recognition as one of the 89 “Living Legends” by the Library of Congress
• membership in the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society and the Horatio Alger Society of Distinguished Americans

Dr. Carson also:

• sits on the board of directors of numerous organizations
• is an Emeritus Fellow of the Yale Corporation, the governing body of Yale University
• was appointed in 2004 by President George W. Bush to serve on the President’s Council on Bioethics
• is a highly regarded motivational speaker who has addressed various audiences from school systems and civic groups to corporations and the President’s National Prayer Breakfast
• has more than 70 honorary doctorate degrees and numerous national merit citations
• has written 11 books, five of which were co-authored with his wife, Candy
• is the feature of many children’s books meant to inspire youth to “Think Big”

In 2016, Dr. Carson accepted the position of Secretary of Housing and Urban Development under the Trump administration. After completing his tenure as the 17th Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development in 2021, Dr. Carson founded the American Cornerstone Institute (ACI). The ACI is focused on fighting for the principles that have guided him through life and that make this country great: faith, liberty, community and life.

Dr. Carson and his wife, Candy Carson, co-founded the Carson Scholars Fund, which recognizes young people of all backgrounds for exceptional academic and humanitarian accomplishments. The organization has awarded more than 11,000 scholarships and has paid out more than $9.5 million. The Carson Scholars Fund is currently operating in 50 states and the District of Columbia, and since its founding, has installed more than 280 Ben Carson Reading Rooms around the country.

The Carsons have been married over 48 years and are proud parents and grandparents.