Arnett Honored as 2006 TIAA-CREF Distinguished Medical Educator
HOUSTON – (June 15, 2006) – Frank C. Arnett, Jr., M.D., professor of internal medicine and the Elizabeth Bidgood Chair in Rheumatology at The University of Texas Medical School at Houston, is the 2006 winner of the TIAA-CREF Distinguished Medical Educator Award. Arnett will be officially recognized at a June 22 award ceremony and banquet in Houston.
Frank C. Arnett, Jr., M.D.
The award annually honors teaching physicians, nurses, and other healthcare professionals who have a long history of significant contributions to medical education and who have nationally and internationally influenced medical education. TIAA-CREF and The Health Museum (formerly the John P. McGovern Museum of Health & Medical Science) provide support for the award.
“I think teaching is the most important mission of the Medical School and each faculty member, but one must enjoy doing it to do it well,” Arnett said. “One must become excited to see a student or trainee evolve into a highly competent and outstanding physician, scientist, teacher, or all of the above.”
An internationally recognized leader in rheumatology, Arnett has pioneered much of the research on the mechanisms of autoimmune diseases such as scleroderma and lupus. As a medical educator, he has been influential in the clinical training of hundreds of medical students, many of whom return from residencies to work in Houston and other areas of Texas. He also is involved in continuing medical education programs, sharing his expertise throughout Texas.
University of Texas Health Science Center President James T. Willerson, M.D., recalled first meeting Arnett in 1988. “I found him to be very scholarly, very well trained, and an outstanding physician and rheumatologist,” Willerson said. “I know that he is very committed to students learning, and he encourages them to do their best – our students look up to him. His legacy will be establishing a terrific rheumatology program here in education, research and service – and he personally and professionally embodies excellence in all of those areas.”
After starting his teaching career in 1974 at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Arnett joined the UT Medical School in 1984 as director of the Division of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunogenetics – a role he held until 2000 when he became chair of the Department of Internal Medicine. He served as chair until 2004.
He earned both his undergraduate degree (Zoology, 1964) and his M.D. (1968) from the University of Cincinnati.
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“Dr. Arnett is universally regarded as an inspirational educator and scholar who leads by example,” said Michael Speer, M.D., chairman of the award steering committee. “He is a very active teacher, whether lecturing to a large group in a classroom, or as a clinician at the bedside with a small group of students. His ability to impart his knowledge and skills, along with his dedication to medicine, define him as a true distinguished medical educator.”
Arnett has received 22 teaching awards over his career, beginning in 1974 when he was named Best Teacher in Internal Medicine by the Wilford Hall USAF Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas. Other awards include the John P. McGovern Outstanding Teacher Award (which he received twice), the Herbert L. and Margaret W. DuPont Master Clinical Teaching Award and the President’s Scholar Award for Teaching.
From 1988 to 1998, he was on the board of directors of the Alpha Omega Alpha national medical honor society, serving as national president in 1997. He is a member of the National Lupus Foundation Advisory Council and since 1997 has served as chair of the medical board advisory, Bluebonnet Chapter, of the Scleroderma Foundation in Houston and as a member of the Scientific Advisory Committee of the national Scleroderma Foundation.
The 2005 recipient of the TIAA-CREF Distinguished Medical Educator Award was Herbert L. Fred, M.D., professor of internal medicine at the UT Medical School at Houston – making Arnett the school’s second honoree out of three awards given since the first in 2004.
“Drs. Fred and Arnett are both absolute treasures as educators, very special men,” said Willerson. “The UT Health Science Center benefits every day from having them among us.”
Arnett will receive a $10,000 cash honorarium and TIAA-CREF will donate 18 scholarships in his name for underprivileged youths to attend The Health Museum's Mini-Medical School Summer Camp.
“The Health Museum is honored to participate with TIAA-CREF in recognizing an exceptional educator in our community,” said Museum CEO Tadd Pullin. “This award directly impacts underprivileged youth by providing scholarships for our health science summer camp at The Health Museum. TIAA-CREF also plays a critical role in helping The Health Museum achieve its mission to inspire healthy lifestyles and the next generation of health science professionals.”
Serving on the 2006 steering committee, established to govern the award and evaluate nomination entries were: UT Health Science Center at Houston Executive Vice President of Academic Affairs L. Maximilian Buja, M.D., and Patricia L. Starck, D.S.N., dean of The University of Texas School of Nursing at Houston. Other members included leading medical professionals from the Baylor College of Medicine, the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, Texas Children's Hospital and The University of Texas Medical Branch School of Nursing.
The 2006 TIAA-CREF Distinguished Medical Educator Award finalists are Denton A. Cooley, M.D. and Rebecca T. Kirkland, M.D., M.P.H.
TIAA-CREF is a national financial services group of companies and the leading provider of retirement services in the academic, research, medical and cultural fields. With more than $380 billion in combined assets under management (3/31/06), TIAA-CREF ranks in the top 100 on Fortune magazine's list of nation's largest companies.
– David Bates
Media Contact: Deborah Mann Lake
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