Halls of Fame upon UT’s campuses honor the prowess of athletes and the achievements of business professionals. UT’s College of Medicine pays tribute to other heroes: health professionals with big hearts.
The Medical Mission Hall of Fame was founded in 2004 by Dr. Lawrence V.
Conway, UT professor emeritus of finance. Dr. Conway also serves as president of
the Diller Foundation, a Toledo-based organization that brings medical
professionals, equipment and medicine to impoverished areas worldwide.
“I’ve had the good fortune to enjoy many experiences in my life, but no experience has been as meaningful, fulfilling, soul-satisfying and productive as my work in promoting medical missions,” said Dr. Conway. The goals of the Hall of Fame, he said, are “to recognize those who have nobly served and to encourage those who will.”
His dedication to the cause was exemplified by his recent $500,000 bequest to the College of Medicine. And the impact of the gift was magnified at the Hall’s dedication in December, where it was announced that recent inductee Dr. Glenn Geelhoed, world renowned professor at George Washington University, was matching Dr. Conway’s $500,000 gift.
Both donors anticipate that their gifts will provide resources to support visiting lectureships and visiting professorships in medically allied fields, as well as seed money for one or more endowed distinguished chairs in multidisciplinary medically related areas. “The contributions will also help fund scholarships and stipends to encourage students interested in making a significant difference in the lives of others through medical missions to do so,” said Dr. Conway. Additionally, the funds will provide a permanent home for the Medical Mission Hall of Fame in the atrium of the Center for Creative Education on the Health Science Campus.
Dr. Geelhoed said those who engage in medical missions have uniformly described the work as “a life-changing experience.”
“The reward that comes from sharing in the miseries of the poor, hungry and ill is habit forming, “ said Dr. Geelhoed, professor of surgery, international medical education, microbiology, immunology and tropical medicine. “Returns to those who seek to empower others to adapt to and cope with poverty and illness and rise above it by communal service is what I refer to as ‘Gifts from the Poor.’ ”
“Hopefully, the Medical Mission Hall of Fame will raise the level of consciousness of others,” added Dr. Conway, “to recognize that no man can be an island unto himself.”