Dean’s Club Symposium honors life of George Isaac, awards Mundt endowed professorship

April 24, 2015 | News
By Staff



The Dean’s Club Symposium of the UT College of Medicine and Life Sciences celebrated George Isaac’s support of the college and awarded the first Adela and Alfred Mundt Endowed Professorship in Transplantation Cardiology.

Dr. Samer Khouri, left, posed for a photo with Alfred Mundt, local restaurateur and longtime MCO/UT benefactor. Khouri received the Adela and Alfred Mundt Endowed Professorship in Transplantation Cardiology.

Dr. Samer Khouri, left, posed for a photo with Alfred Mundt, local restaurateur and longtime MCO/UT benefactor. Khouri received the Adela and Alfred Mundt Endowed Professorship in Transplantation Cardiology.

The event, held Thursday in the George Isaac Minimally Invasive Surgery Center, celebrated the work of the Dean’s Club that helps
 the UT College of Medicine and Life Sciences and UT Medical Center meet its mission of excellence in medical education, research and clinical care. Gifts from members provide essential funds for scholarships, faculty research support
 and other innovative programs.

“We lost a true champion of the University’s mission earlier this year when George Isaac died,” said Dr. Christopher Cooper, senior vice president for clinical affairs and dean of the UT College of Medicine and Life Sciences. “During his 91 years on this earth, George was a generous and involved community leader.”

In a show of support for the 2006 merger between UT and the former Medical College of Ohio, Isaac donated $1 million for the new George Isaac Minimally Invasive Surgery Center. A previous $1 million donation supported the Isaac Chair in Cancer Research, the George Isaac Scholarship in Occupational Therapy and the Isaac Presidential Scholarship.

His dedication to medical education in our community also included serving on the MCO Board of Trustees from 1987 to 1996, as chair from 1991 to 1996. Isaac also was a past member of the MUO Foundation Board of Trustees.

The Adela and Alfred Mundt Endowed Professorship in Transplantation Cardiology also was awarded to Dr. Samer Khouri, professor in the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine. Khouri’s area of expertise is the diagnosis of diastolic heart failure and pulmonary hypertension, and the interaction between the kidney and the heart.

The Mundt family have been longtime supporters of the University. Alfred Mundt received his cardiovascular care from longtime MCO/UTMC cardiologist Dr. Thomas Walsh; this included a quadruple bypass surgery, treatment for arrhythmia problems and, eventually, a heart transplant following congestive heart failure.

To support the cardiology program, the Mundt family, who are local restaurateurs, in 2008 created the Mundt Cardiology Endowment Fund. The next “From the Heart” celebrity wait night in support of the fund will be Monday, Aug. 24, 5:30 p.m. at Loma Linda, 10400 Airport Highway in Swanton.

Other endowed faculty positions created by philanthropy that were recognized at the symposium were:

• Clair Martig Endowed Chair in Neurology;

• Edmund Vickroy Collins Endowed Professorship in the Department of Pediatrics;

• Frank D. Stranahan Endowed Chair for Oncological Research;


• Frederick W. Hiss Endowed Professorship in Diabetes Research;


• George Isaac Endowed Chair in Cancer Research;


• Helen and Harold McMaster Endowed Chair in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology;

• John M. Howard Endowed Professorship of Pancreatic Surgery;


• John T. Schaeufele Endowed Professorship in Pediatrics;

• Kenneth A. Kropp M.D. Endowed Professorship of Urology;

• Medical College of Ohio Alumni Endowed Chair in Surgery
;

• Mercy Health System Chair of Excellence in Education;

• Rita T. Sheely Endowed Chair in Obstetrics and Gynecology;

• Robert A. Stranahan Chair in Microbiology and Immunology;


• S. Amjad Hussain M.D. Endowed Professorship in Cardiothoracic Surgery; and


• University of Toledo College of Medicine and Life Sciences Endowed Professorship in Nephrology.

Also at the event, the 2015 Ashel Bryan Distinguished Service Award was presented to Peter and Nanette Ryerson for their efforts to advance the health and well-being of the region. Peter Ryerson is the president of Ryerson Management Associates, a national health-care management consulting firm. He served as a board member of the Medical College of Ohio Foundation from 1994 to 2005 and is a member of the UTMC Advisory Council.

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