Retreat Beginnings

The Class of 1979 in the Prudential Building ballroom.

In June 1976, Houston and the Texas Medical Center (TMC) received severe rainfall. Known by a different name at the time, McGovern Medical School was flooded by the downpour. Memorial Hermann Hospital lost power. The TMC was devastated. As work began to rebuild the TMC, the school needed a place to host lecture and anatomy coursework for the first year class. A nearby skyscraper that housed the offices of the Prudential Insurance Company was the solution. And so, a week after they had planned to start the school year, the first year class attended lecture in the building’s ballroom and auditorium.

Dr. Henry Strobel with members of the first Retreat planning committee.

At the start of the term, Dr. Henry Strobel noticed a sense of disenchantment among the first year class. It contrasted with the excitement that he was accustomed to seeing in new students. Dr. Strobel set out to address the issue. In doing so, he created the annual Henry Strobel Retreat, a 47-year-old tradition at McGovern Medical School. Working with leadership from the second year class, he received the green light from the school and Camp Allen to host a retreat – a weekend for students and significant others to leave the hustle and bustle of Houston and the TMC in order to appreciate the McGovern family and community around them.