The Alumni Council of the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth will honor five of its most accomplished alumni at its first annual achievement awards celebration on Friday, October 17, at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center.
The inaugural alumni award recipients who will be recognized for career achievements are W. Hardy Hendren III, MD, D’47, Med’50, Samuel L. Katz, MD, D’48, Med’50, and James C. Strickler, MD, D’50, Med’51. The recipients who will be honored for outstanding service to their alma mater are John M. Moran, MD, D’54, Med’55 and Robert L. Thurer, MD, D’67, Med’68.
The event will take place at the James C. Chilcott Conference Center (Auditorium G), from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. at DHMC. During the award celebration, the alumni will share stories about their education and careers in medicine and answer questions from the audience. This event is free and open to all.
Dr. W. Hardy Hendren, the Robert E. Gross Professor of Surgery at Harvard Medical School and Emeritus Chief of Surgery at the Children’s Hospital Boston, will be recognized for his pioneering career in pediatric surgery and pediatric urology. His innovative techniques in surgical reconstruction for children born with critical and life-threatening urogenital abnormalities revolutionized these fields and set the standards for scientific research and surgical practices in these areas.
Dr. Samuel Katz, the Wilburt Cornell Davison Professor and Chairman Emeritus of Pediatrics at Duke University, will be honored for his outstanding contributions to public health as a pediatrician, virologist, teacher, and vaccine expert. Dr. Katz has contributed to the research and development of the attenuated measles vaccine and drugs for other infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDS, influenza, and rubella, and helped to establish the public health standards, practices, and policies in the field of infectious diseases.
Also receiving the career achievement award will be James C. Strickler, former dean of Dartmouth’s medical school, who introduced the clinical curriculum and strengthened its academic programs and financial foundation. Dr. Strickler went on to lead global health initiatives to provide medical care to refugees and conflict-affected peoples around the world. He also spearheaded the Dartmouth project to assist Kosovo in rebuilding its health care infrastructure and systems.
Dr. John M. Moran, a dedicated volunteer for more than 30 years, will be recognized for his extraordinary service to the medical school, where he helped to establish the Alumni Council and provided leadership for the medical school’s annual fund raising committees. Dr. Moran, who led a distinguished career as a cardiovascular thoracic surgeon and professor of surgery, also led the initiative to honor of his friend and classmate through the establishment of the O. Ross McIntyre Endowed Professor in Oncology.
The outstanding service award will also be presented to Dr. Robert L. Thurer in recognition of his leadership roles on the Alumni Council, as a representative to the Dartmouth College Alumni Council, and as a member of the medical school’s Board of Overseers. A cardiothoracic surgeon, clinical educator, and recognized expert in several fields of surgery, Dr. Thurer has also served in leadership roles for his class and in advisory roles for the medical school.
For more information about the event, contact the Office of Alumni Relations at (603) 653-0726 or Geisel.Alumni.Relations@Dartmouth.edu.
