Special Awards Given
During 2004 Commencement
During the 2004 CU-Health Sciences Center commencement ceremonies, 11 special awards were presented. They included two honorary degrees, three university medals, two Joseph Addison Sewall awards, two Florence Rena Sabin awards, an alumni legislative recognition award, and a distinguished service award.
Honorary Degrees:
Honorary doctorates — Frederick C. Battaglia, MD, and Gasper
Lazzara, DDS
Dr. Battaglia is a world-renowned pioneer in the workings of mammalian fetal
physiology, growth and metabolism. He was among the first clinical scientists
to recognize the relationship of birth weight and gestational age to neonatal
morbidity and mortality. He has authored 250 research papers and 75 scholarly
reviews and book chapters, and has held the presidency of five professional
pediatric and perinatal associations and societies. Battaglia was instrumental
in establishing the Perinatal Research Facility at Fitzsimons.
Dr. Lazzara is founder of the Orthodontic Centers of America (OCA), a $1.5
billion international healthcare company that manages 750 orthodontic offices
worldwide. He has founded the Orthodontic Education Co., and recently donated
$3 million to the CU School of Dentistry with a $92.7 million commitment to
fund the Lazzara Center for Oral-Facial Health at Fitzsimons. His vision and
generosity have helped create the largest public-private entrepreneurial venture
in the history of dental education.
University Medals:
William C. and Sara S. Caile, and Bruce C. Paton, MD
The Cailes’ are extraordinarily generous University of Colorado volunteers
and advocates. They have served on numerous committees and boards, including
the Boulder Campus Campaign Committee, the Resource Development Committee,
the CU-Health Sciences Center’s Assistive Technology Partners (ATP),
the CU Board of Trustees, and many others. The Cailes’ financial support
of more than $1.7 million has benefited the entire university system. Their
donations have funded an endowment for ATP, which helps people with cognitive,
sensory and physical disabilities. They also have been avid supporters of
the Fitzsimons development.
Dr. Paton has a 55-year history of scholarship, service and leadership at
CU-Health Sciences Center. Best known for his expertise in wilderness medicine,
he co-founded the Wilderness Medical Society, and has directed the Given Institute
in Aspen since 1999. A founding member of the CU-Health Sciences Center’s
Library Leadership Council, he has contributed considerable time as a fundraiser
and donor to advance the library’s collection and services. Most recently,
Paton authored the book Lewis and Clark: Doctors in the Wilderness.
Joseph Addison Sewall
Awards
Howard M. Landesman, DDS, and John D. McDowell, DDS
Dr. Landesman, dean of the CU School of Dentistry, has led the school from
the 48th ranked dental school in the nation to one of the top 15 dental and
has significantly increased the school’s NIH funding. Landesman piloted
the public-private business partnership with Dr. Lazzara, enabling the Lazzara
Center for Oral-Facial Health to open doors at Fitzsimons with a specialty
in orthodontics.
His passion for developing partnerships has led to the opening of the Healthy
Smiles clinic at Fitzsimons, which provides access to dental care for many
underserved Colorado children. Dean Landesman is a diplomat and past president
of the American Board of Prosthodontics, and has served as president of the
Academy of Prosthodontics and the Council of Dental Deans of the American
Dental Education Association.
Dr. McDowell is recognized for his accomplishments in forensic dentistry and
his vigorous commitment to faculty governance and leadership. A specialist
and global consultant in the diagnosis and analysis of oral and facial trauma,
McDowell is renowned for his ability to distinguish between accidental injuries
and human-inflicted violence. He is the past president of the American Society
of Forensic Odontology and the American Academy of Forensic Sciences and currently
serves on the editorial board of the American Journal of Forensic Medicine
and Pathology.
He is an active advocate for the prevention of abuse and neglect among women,
children, and the elderly. McDowell maintains a heavy teaching load as the
only forensic dentist on faculty. A talented educator, his courses have received
numerous accolades; he was selected as Outstanding Didactic Dental Instructor
of the year four times between 1995 and 2001 and received the Chancellor’s
Award for Teaching Excellence in 2000.
Florence Rena Sabin Awards
Nancy E. Nelson, MD, and Thomas P. Beresford, MD
Dr. Nelson, clinical professor emerita of pediatrics at CU-Health Sciences
Center, contributed 40 years of dedicated service to the institution. She
is being honored for her tireless advocacy on behalf of the medical students.
Nelson served as the assistant dean for counseling and advocacy, and also
as the associate dean for student affairs.
In 1997, the Medical Student Council awarded her the prestigious St. Geme
Award for her ability to integrate the research and teaching environment
in the CU School of Medicine and her ability to impart enthusiasm for life
and learning. She is a lifetime member of the American Academy of Pediatrics,
and has served as the president of the Denver Medical Society and a member
of its Board of Trustees.
Dr. Beresford is a professor of psychiatry at the CU School of Medicine. He
is best known for consultation psychiatry, which covers those areas of overlap
between the medical and surgical specialties and psychiatric diagnosis and
treatment. His other specialty is in the field of alcoholism and addiction
research. He is internationally known for his work in the holistic care of
alcohol-dependent persons facing liver transplantation.
As a teacher, Beresford has gained widespread recognition for his innovative
course for advanced psychiatric residents, “Clinical Uses of Ego Defense
Mechanisms,” which offers a combination of lectures on psychological
adaptation theory, small group discussions, and projects based on clinical
videotaped interviews with patients. Beresford is also a published poet, and
was a Wallace Stegner Fellow in Creative Writing for Poetry at Stanford University.
CU-Health Sciences Center
Alumni Legislative Recognition Award
Sen. Dan Grossman, D-Denver, is a recipient of the University
of Colorado Alumni Legislative Recognition Award. Grossman, a Denver
native, was elected in 2002 to his first term in the Colorado Senate. He serves
on two key committees: Agriculture, Natural Resources and Energy and Judiciary
and Legal Services.
Prior to serving in the Senate, Grossman was a member from 1996 through 2000
of the Colorado House of Representatives, where he served as minority leader
in 2000. A strong supporter of the University of Colorado and higher education
for many years, Grossman successfully sponsored key legislation for the CU
School of Medicine that extends the license for foreign physicians. He has
also been a leading legislative supporter of the university’s move to
Fitzsimons.
University of Colorado
Distinguished Service Award
W. Gerald Rainer, MD, is being honored with a University
of Colorado Distinguished Service Award for 50 years of outstanding leadership
in his medical specialty and the wider community. A member of the most prestigious
surgical and cardiothoracic professional societies in the United States, Rainer
has held such distinguished offices as president of the American College of
Chest Physicians; director of the American Board of Thoracic Surgery; president
of the Colorado Heart Association; president of the Colorado Medical Society;
and president of the Society of Thoracic Surgeons, the largest of the thoracic
surgical professional organizations.
In 1998, he received the Florence Sabin Award at the CU-Health Sciences
Center, and in 1999, he was inducted into the Colorado Pulmonary Hall of Fame.
Rainer has been involved in leadership roles with the Denver Center for the
Performing Arts, the Denver Art Museum, the Museum of Nature and Science,
and the Colorado Symphony Orchestra, among various other civic organizations.
He also is an avid medical historian.
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