Texas Children’s President and CEO Mark A. Wallace was on hand at the recent commencement ceremony at Baylor College of Medicine, as he has been on more than 20 other occasions. But this time, he too was being honored.
Wallace received an honorary degree – the Doctor of Humanities in Medicine. The honorary degree is awarded to individuals who have provided exceptional support or service, either directly or indirectly, to Baylor College of Medicine or to academic medicine as a whole.
As he received the honorary doctorate and shook the hand of Dr. Paul Klotman, Baylor’s president and CEO, Wallace said he reflected on how his relationship with Baylor began.
“In 1977 when I joined Houston Methodist, Dr. Michael E. DeBakey was Baylor’s president and was regarded as the number one cardiovascular surgeon in the world,” Wallace said. “I remember how aspirational DeBakey was about making Baylor a great medical school. I learned a great deal from DeBakey about the importance of teaching hospitals.”
DeBakey’s sister, Lois DeBakey, had nothing but kind words for Wallace regarding the recent honor.
“I am pleased to see Mark’s inordinate intellect, capabilities, talents and laudable personal qualities recognized in this way,” Lois said. “He should take just pride in the growth, expansion and high stature of the hospital system he’s shepherded for so long and so successfully.”
Wallace said it was during his early days at Methodist that he began to understand what contributes to the success of great academic centers of excellence – teaching hospitals like Johns Hopkins, Mass General or Boston Children’s, for example – is their affiliation with a medical school which attracts the best minds and the brightest individuals. He carried that knowledge and DeBakey’s wisdom with him to Texas Children’s, which has been affiliated with Baylor since its inception more than 60 years ago.
Today, Texas Children’s has a complementary mix of Baylor faculty and outstanding private pediatricians, surgeons and Ob/Gyn physicians who choose to practice at Texas Children’s and are dedicated to fulfilling our mission.
“I would be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge the tremendous work and dedication of everyone associated with Texas Children’s – the Board, executive and physician leaders, our extraordinary employees and everyone else who is somehow involved in our commitment to patient care, education and research,” Wallace said. “It is their dedication that allowed me to celebrate that very special moment.”
This news story includes excerpts from Mark Wallace’s June 4 On the Mark blog post “An honorary degree 38 years in the making.” Click here to read the blog post in its entirety.