See who’s being honored in the 2025 STAR Awards
As the 2025 STAR Awards celebrations approach, UTHealth Houston employees can now view the full list of this year’s honorees through the STAR Awards website, which highlights the faculty and staff being recognized for their milestone years of service.
About the STAR Awards
Employees are the driving force behind UTHealth Houston’s success, powering the university’s mission in health care, research, and education every day. Their dedication and expertise shape the institution and the communities it serves.
In recognition of that lasting impact, the university pauses each year to celebrate this commitment by honoring employees for their milestone years of service through the STAR Awards.
This year, more than 1,000 faculty and staff are being recognized for five to 50 years of service to the university.
McGovern Medical School faculty and staff who reached major milestones or more than 40 years are:
50 Years
- Allan Katz, MD, professor and Robert K. Creasy, MD Professor in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences
45 Years
- Joan Bull, MD, professor in the Department of Internal Medicine
- Bruce Butler, PhD, professor and vice president of Research and Technology in the Department of Anesthesiology, Critical Care and Pain Medicine
- Richard Smalling, MD, PhD, professor and Jay Brent Sterling Professor in Cardiovascular Medicine and James D. Woods Distinguished Chair in Cardiovascular Medicine
40 Years
- Richard Andrassy, MD, professor, chair, Jack H. Mayfield, MD Distinguished University Chair in Surgery, and Denton A. Cooley MD Char in Surgery, and senior vice president for Clinical Affairs and Strategy at UTHealth Houston
- Jaroslaw Aronowski, MD, PhD, professor and Roy M. and Phyllis Gough Huffington Chair in Neurology
- Sharon Collins-Johnson, senior administrative coordinator in the Department of Pediatrics
- David Wainwright, MD, professor in the Department of Surgery
- Robert Yetman, MD, professor in the Department of Pediatrics
Upcoming celebrations
Awardees with five to 15 years of service will be celebrated at a reception on March 4. A luncheon honoring awardees with 20 to 50 years of service will take place March 5.
The celebrations are invitation only. STAR awardees who have not yet received their invitation should contact Human Resources.
STAR Award qualifications
To receive a 2025 STAR Award, recipients must have reached a milestone work anniversary before Dec. 31 of the previous year. For example, a 2025 STAR Award recipient will have celebrated their milestone anniversary between Jan. 1, 2025, and Dec. 31, 2025.
Employees who are celebrating a milestone year but do not see their name listed are encouraged to contact Human Resources.