March 2nd,
2007
M E M O R A N D U M
TO:
Strategic Executive Council
Department Chairs and
Administrators, School of Medicine
Center & Institute
Directors and Administrators
Vice
Deans, Senior Associate Deans,
Associate Deans, and Assistant Deans, School of
Medicine
Faculty and Staff,
School of Medicine
FROM:
Garland D. Anderson, M.D.
Dean of Medicine
It
is my distinct and personal pleasure to announce the
appointment of Gary D.V. Hankins, M.D., as Chairman
of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology
effective immediately. Dr. Hankins has done an
exemplary job as the Interim-Chairman of the
Department during the last 7 months, and during his
11-year tenure as Vice-Chairman. I have had the
great fortune of working with Dr. Hankins during his
entire UTMB career, and I am delighted that he will
be continuing to serve UTMB as the Jennie Sealy
Smith Distinguished Professor and Chairman.
As
Chairman, Dr. Hankins will work to establish the
premiere Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology in
the nation, to develop a focused research group in
the Biology of Early Pregnancy, and to lead the
renovation and expansion of the John Sealy Hospital
Labor and Delivery areas and nurseries.
He will
also lead the continued growth and development of
the research, clinical and educational missions of
the department. “We have to make sure we a do an
effective job in conveying to our medical students
what a great life the Ob/Gyn life is,” Dr. Hankins
explains. “It is really a happy life. We are there
at people’s happiest moments in life, and that’s
rewarding.”
Dr.
Hankins too, is particularly dedicated to UTMB’s
historic mission of serving the underserved. “I have
always believed that everyone deserves quality care
and good doctors and nurses to care for them,” he
explains. “That is why I stayed in the military for
22 years, and that mission attracted me to UTMB.”
Dr.
Hankins has noted too, the complexity of cases seen
at UTMB help provide the best training possible for
our medical students. In addition, he notes that the
strength of our NICU department, under Dr. Joan
Richardson’s leadership, allows the Department of
Obstetrics and Gynecology to enjoy extremely
favorable outcomes. “I know if I can get the baby to
Dr. Richardson and her staff, the chances of a
positive outcome are extremely high.”
A native
of Tazewell, Virginia, Dr. Hankins earned a
bachelor’s degree from the Virginia Military
Institute and a medical degree from the Virginia
Commonwealth University’s Medical College of
Virginia. He completed his residency at the Wilford
Hall USAF Medical Center at Lackland Air Force Base,
Texas and completed fellowship programs in both
Maternal Fetal Medicine (University of Southwestern
Medical School at Dallas) and Critical Care Medicine
(Wilford Hall USAF Medical Center). Dr. Hankins has
served as the Consultant to the Air Force Surgeon
General for Obstetrics/Gynecology since 1995. Dr.
Hankins has been the author or co-author on more
than 180 articles, 30 book chapters, 9 books and 300
abstracts. For the last 4 years he has been named an
“America’s Top Doctor” and in 1992 he received the
Alumni Star Award from Virginia Commonwealth
University and also received the Gold Headed Cane
Award for the physician most representative of the
highest ethics in medicine from Wilford Hall USAF
Medical Center. Dr. Hankins currently serves as the
Chairman of the OB Practice Committee for the
American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
(ACOG).
Before
joining UTMB in 1995, Dr. Hankins was a clinical
professor in the Department of Family Medicine at
the University of Texas Health Science Center in San
Antonio and a professor at the Uniformed Services
University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda,
Maryland. At UTMB, Dr. Hankins has served as the
Medical Director of the Perinatal Outreach Program
and as Vice-Chairman of the Department of OB/Gyn.
During his tenure, Dr.
Hankins has displayed an unwavering and singular
commitment to his patients and to the Department of
Obstetrics and Gynecology. I am delighted that he
will continue his extraordinary dedication to the
UTMB and Galveston communities as Chairman of the
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Please join
me in congratulating Dr. Hankins on this
well-deserved appointment.
