Grant Fowler, M.D., ’84, and Jane Fitch M.D., ’88, are the 2016 winners of the Distinguished Alumnus Award of McGovern Medical School and will be the featured guests of honor at the Distinguished Alumnus Award ceremony. Two outstanding alumni of McGovern Medical School will be honored in a special ceremony Friday, Oct. 21, at Trevisio.
Established in 1987, the purpose of the award is to recognize outstanding contributions of alumni in the areas of medical science and education, or the prevention and treatment of diseases, as well as continued interests in McGovern Medical School and its students.
Fitch is professor and chair of the Department of Anesthesiology at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center in Oklahoma City. Following graduation from McGovern Medical School, she completed a transitional internship at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Houston and completed a residency in anesthesiology at the University of Washington, Seattle, becoming chief resident. After residency, she pursued a fellowship in cardiothoracic and vascular anesthesiology at the University of Washington, Seattle, where she also served as a clinical instructor. She then joined Yale University School of Medicine as an assistant professor, fellowship director and associate operating room manager for Yale-New Haven Hospital. In 1998, Fitch returned to Houston, where she served at Baylor College of Medicine as associate professor, division chief, and vice chair until 2001, when she was recruited to the University of Oklahoma as professor and chair of the Department of Anesthesiology.
“Her contributions to the clinical care of patients and service to her department, medical school, and community have been exemplary and continue to make her a most deserving candidate for the Distinguished Alumnus Award,” wrote one of her nominators.
Fowler is vice chairman of McGovern Medical School’s Department of Family and Community Medicine, overseeing medical education at the medical student and resident levels.
“I cannot overstate how much of an asset Dr. Fowler is at our institution,” wrote one of his nominators. “He has educated many residents, including me, over the years, and his impact on the trainees is everlasting.”
Board certified in family medicine, Fowler is additionally certified in geriatrics and sports medicine as well as in lipidology. He completed his family medicine residency at Memorial Southwest, UT Medical School at Houston and additionally completed a certificate of management from the University of Houston Clear Lake. He joined the faculty at McGovern Medical School in 1987 as an instructor.
Fowler is past president of the Harris County Academy of Family Physicians and served in a national leadership position on the board of the Association of Family Medicine Residency Directors. He frequently presents medical information and advice through public speaking and media opportunities. He has published Procedures for Primary Care, a procedures textbook endorsed by Dr. Denton Cooley. His numerous honors include 2017 Texas Academy of Family Physicians Exemplary Teaching Award and induction into the Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society as an alumnus in 2015.
The event honoring these distinguished alumni will begin at 6 p.m. Oct. 21 with a reception and continue with a dinner at 7 p.m. To register for this event, please click here. For more details, please contact Derrick Miller, director of alumni relations.
-Darla Brown, Office of Communications, McGovern Medical School