Kao to lead ACS Board of Governors
Lillian S. Kao, MD, professor and Jack H. Mayfield, MD, Chair in the Department of Surgery, recently was elected chair of the Board of Governors Executive Committee of the American College of Surgeons.
She has served the ACS Executive Committee as the Quality Pillar lead for two years and previously as the vice chair. She also is an elected member of the organization’s Academy of Master Surgeon Educators, which recognizes surgeon educators who have devoted their careers to surgical education.
She said promoting the power of quality will be the focus of her new leadership position.
“Ultimately, my primary goals are to facilitate bidirectional communication between the members of the ACS and the leadership, including the Board of Regents, and to help to further the mission of the ACS, which is ‘to heal all with trust and skill’ through the quality programs, education of surgeons at all levels, and advocacy,” Kao said.
The director of the Division of Acute Care Surgery, Kao earned her medical degree from the University of Michigan Medical School before completing her residency and fellowship at the University of Washington Medical Center. She joined the McGovern Medical School faculty in 2002. She also is the president-elect of the South Texas Chapter of the ACS.
The ACS is dedicated to improving the surgical care of the patient and to safeguarding standards of care in an optimal and ethical practice environment. The Board of Governors act as the liaison between the ACS Board of Regents and the Fellows.