EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE AFTER 7 P.M. JULY 13, 2007
GALVESTON, Texas - Dr. John D. Stobo, president of the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, accepted the annual John P. McGovern Lifetime Achievement Award in Oslerian Medicine at a ceremony held Friday evening at the historic Open Gates conference center in Galveston.

Established in 2001, the non-monetary award serves to recognize a longstanding UTMB School of Medicine faculty member who exemplifies the teaching and practice of humane patient care in contemporary academic medicine. Previous holders include Drs. A. Ray Remmers (2001), Don W. Powell (2002), E. Burke Evans (2003), the late John R. Calverley (2004), Alvin L. LeBlanc (2005) and Melvyn H. Schreiber (2006).

Recipients of the honor are selected by the eight Osler Scholars, members of UTMB's John P. McGovern Academy of Oslerian Medicine who themselves are chosen as role models of compassionate, scientifically grounded, patient-centered care in the tradition of Canadian physician and essayist William Osler (1849-1919). Osler was a founder of Johns Hopkins Medical School and the author of "The Principles and Practice of Medicine," which became the standard international medical textbook for more than 50 years after it was first published in 1892.

The McGovern Academy of Oslerian Medicine was endowed by a series of gifts by late Houston allergist and philanthropist Dr. John P. McGovern, who died in Galveston on May 31 at the age of 86. The academy grew out of his discussions with Stobo about integrating Oslerian ideals into the medical school curriculum as a way to teach future physicians the humanistic approach, which both men believed had been overshadowed in both educational and clinical settings by rapidly advancing medical technology.

"Thanks to the generosity and vision of Jack McGovern and to the efforts of the Osler Scholars, William Osler's ideals are among the qualities that distinguish the University of Texas Medical Branch as an academic medical center with a soul," Stobo said.

Presentation of the McGovern Lifetime Achievement Award caps an event called the Osler Oration, which serves as a celebration of William Osler's birth on July 12, 1849. Other honors conferred during this year's ceremony included two student essay awards and two scholarships, one endowed by John D. Stobo and his wife, Mary Ann. In addition, the evening included the induction of seven new Osler Student Scholars, medical students chosen by the academy as exemplars of humanism and professionalism.

"I am deeply honored that the Osler Scholars have chosen me as this year's recipient of the John P. McGovern Lifetime Achievement Award in Oslerian Medicine," Stobo said. "This certainly counts among the most meaningful recognitions I've received in my entire career."

Stobo has received numerous awards for his leadership as an internist, medical educator and executive. Among them have been the Katherine and Nicholas Leone Award for Administrative Excellence, the International Association of Business Communicators' Executive Communicator of the Year Award, Health Access Texas' Health Policy Award, and the American College of Physician Executives Award for Lifetime Achievement. He was also an inaugural inductee in the Gold Humanism Honor Society and was named a Prevent Blindness Person of Vision.

Stobo has also held high office in national organizations, including president of the American College of Rheumatology, president of the American Association of Professors of Medicine, chairman of the board of directors of the American Board of Internal Medicine, chairman of the Institute of Medicine's Board on Health Science Policy and a member of the Institute of Medicine Council.

Immediately prior to coming to the University of Texas Medical Branch in 1997, Stobo served as the William Osler Professor of Medicine at Johns Hopkins. After a decade as UTMB's president, he will step down on Aug. 31 but will continue as a member of the faculty, focusing his attention on enhancing access to health care among the medically underserved, developing innovations in teaching, encouraging educational excellence and promoting Oslerian ideals in the care of patients and the education of health professionals.
The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston
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Galveston, Texas 77555-0144
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