The 2022 Global Vision Award Gala

On Monday, December 5, The Columbia World Affairs Council honored Dr. Jim Chow as the 2022 Global Vision Award recipient.  The black-tie gala was held at the downtown Columbia Marriott.

Dr. Chow is a Senior Partner at Columbia Skin Clinic and Retired Brigadier General in the United States Air Force. This is the 29th year the Columbia World Affairs Council has presented the award to a leader whose contributions have made a significant impact on projecting South Carolina globally.

Photos in the gallery are courtesy of Drew Baron and also Alan Cooper

“Dr. Chow is internationally known for a 30+ year career in dermatology and cancer treatment,” said Fred Monk, Columbia World Affairs Council Chair Emeritus. “His service as a military doctor and volunteer to communities around the world, treating people from Honduras to Iraq as well as wounded service members back home, changed many lives. His dedication to service, beyond his professional achievements, elevated South Carolina’s presence around the world. Dr. Chow is the epitome of the Global Vision Award!”

As a son of two physicians who worked as medical missionaries in Northern Africa and Southeast Asia, Dr. Chow was raised in the Sahara Desert. While a child, he witnessed the 6 Day War, Libyan Revolution, and Arab Israeli War, during which he witnessed the darker side of humanity.

A graduate of the School of Medicine at the University of South Carolina, Dr. Chow extended his training at Vanderbilt University Medical Center for a Wound Healing Fellowship and Dermatology Residency and Harvard University for an Advanced Cutaneous Laser Post Fellowship. He went on to complete his Mohs Micrographic Surgery and Dermatologic Surgery Fellowship at the Johns Hopkins Medical Institution and attend the John F. Kennedy School of Government. He continued his service at SC Labor Licensing Regulation as a member of the Board of Medical Examiners and a clinical faculty member of the USC School of Medicine.

Dr. Chow has been deployed to Iraq, Afghanistan, Germany, England, Denmark and Japan. He has been lauded for organizing multiple humanitarian civil-military relief missions to developing countries and war zones, including Honduras and Guatemala, and relief for Haiti earthquake survivors.

Serving over 30+ years in the Air National Guard, he was instrumental in establishing the National Strategic Pharmaceutical Stockpile program at McEntire Joint National Guard Base, subsequently used as a template for other Guard bases nationwide. In addition, Dr. Chow organized and led the Senior Visiting Physician and Surgeon Program consisting of civilian critical specialists, recruiting neurosurgeons across the country to treat wounded warriors.

Dr. Chow made it his mission to help service men and women recover from their time in war, recruiting medical professionals to ensure military members and their families receive the help they need. Further, he succeeded in getting universities across the country to allow military members to return to their course work without penalties when active duty disrupts their education.

Dr. Chow is the recipient of the Order of the Palmetto by the Governor of SC, the Palmetto Cross for military service, and the Sidney Algernon Award for Humanitarian Service. He was recently recognized for his military support as a Jefferson Award Honoree.

The Columbia World Affairs Council was established in 1993 to promote public awareness of global issues and international activities in the Midlands of South Carolina.  The Council administers the sister-city program for the City of Columbia and is a member of the Washington-based World Affairs Councils of America and Sister Cities International.

The Global Vision Award was established in 1994, and the first recipient was Governor Carroll A. Campbell. The 2021 Global Vision Award was given to George Wolfe, Partner at Nelson Mullins.

For more information, please visit columbiaworldaffairs.org.