Robert L. DuPont, M.D., to speak at commencement
By Bryant Boutwell, Dr.P.H.

     This year’s commencement speaker, Dr. Robert L. DuPont, is no stranger to our growing national need to focus attention on mental health issues. An internationally recognized authority in the field of psychiatry, he is currently president for the Institute for Behavior and Health, Inc. in Rockville, MD.

     Dr. DuPont’s name may seem familiar given his brother is Dr. Burt DuPont, a longtime Medical School faculty member, and his daughter, Caroline, is a 1994 graduate of the Medical School.

     Serving under Presidents Nixon, Ford, and Carter, Dr. Robert DuPont directed the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) from its inception in 1973 until July 1978. In addition to directing NIDA, he was appointed by President Nixon in 1973 to direct the White House Special Action Office for Drug Abuse Prevention (SAODAP). In that role he became the nation’s second White House Drug Czar serving from 1973 – 1978 under Presidents Nixon and Ford.

     Today he also is vice president of Bensinger, DuPont and Associates (BDA), a national management consulting firm dealing with workplace substance abuse with offices in Chicago, Rockville, Dallas, Little Rock, and Spokane.

     A clinical professor of psychiatry at the Georgetown University School of Medicine since 1980, he has maintained an active psychiatric practice since 1969. Graduating from Harvard Medical School in 1963, he completed his residency and fellowship training at the Massachusetts Mental Health Center and Harvard Medical School.

     Dr. DuPont has been the principal investigator on approximately 100 clinical trials and has written more than 200 professional articles and 15 books and monographs on a variety of health subjects. Formerly he served as principal investigator with the Institute for Behavior and Health, where he conducted over 70 studies during 19 years.

     In 1998, Dr. DuPont and his two daughters, Elizabeth DuPont Spencer, MSW, and Caroline M. DuPont, M.D. wrote The Anxiety Cure: An Eight-Step Program for Getting Well.

     If you haven’t read his books, you’ve probably seen him on television as he has been a health commentator for ABC’s “Good Morning America.”

     Commencement will be held at 10 a.m. June 7 at the George R. Brown Convention Center.

Jeanie Mullin named manager of Alumni Affairs
     Jeanie Mullin was named manager of the Office of Alumni Affairs in October and is already at work overseeing a variety of programs and activities in support of alumni and future alumni.

     In making the appointment, Bryant Boutwell, Dr.P.H., associate dean for Community Affairs and Professional Education noted, “Jeanie brings to the office a winning combination of experience within the Medical School and her enjoyment of working with people. I am confident she will make her mark on the program in many positive ways.”

     Mullin has been involved in a variety of activities and programs planned to enhance existing programs and add new dimensions. “This position appealed to me in that I like to be creative and work with people,” she said. “Each day I have the opportunity to talk and correspond with our alumni and to meet new people.”

     A Medical School employee since 1993, Mullin has worked in the departments of otolaryngology, radiology, and most recently as senior executive assistant to the associate dean for clinical operations. A graduate of the University of Utah with a bachelor’s degree in cultural anthropology, her work experience includes a variety of skills from managing physician offices to supporting executive leadership.

     In her new role as manager, she is involved in a variety of activities including maintaining the alumni database, hosting specialty seminars linking alumni with current students, coordinating membership dues, and organizing receptions and reunions

     The Alumni Office is located in the Jesse Jones Library Building, Suite 450. Jeanie can be reached at Jean.M.Mullin@uth.tmc.edu by phone, 713-500-5121, or by FAX, 713-500-0606.

Alumni Affairs seeking e-mails The Office of Alumni Affairs is planning to debut an e-mail newsletter for alumni and friends, featuring timely news and events information. If you are interested in signing up for this free service, please send your e-mail address to jean.m.mullin@uth.tmc.edu. You may unsubscribe from this service at anytime.

New Hometown Partner Program announced
     The Office of Alumni Affairs is looking for alumni, faculty, classified staff and friends who would be interested in assisting an out-of-town medical student during his or her stay in Houston as part of the new Hometown Partner Program.

     The idea is to give students a place to go for the holidays in case they do not have the opportunity to make it home to their family. Additionally, Hometown Partners could invite the student to share a home-cooked meal or invite the student to go out to dinner when they are taking their family out for pizza! Hometown Partners will be a handy resource for our Medical School students, answering such questions as what “inside the Loop” means, or who has the best barbecue.

     Contact Alumni Affairs, 713-500-5121, or jean.m.mullin@uth.tmc.edu, and we’ll put you on a waiting list for the fall 2003 entering class.

Dr. Smalling, ‘75, hosts Concepts in Contemporary Cardiology
By Bryant Boutwell, Dr.P.H.

     Richard W. Smalling, M.D., Ph.D., has distinguished himself in many ways – as a medical student (Class of ’75), a distinguished alumnus of this Medical School, and as The Jay Brent Sterling Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine and interim director of the Medical School’s Division of Cardiology. On a daily basis he can be found overseeing a busy schedule in the cath labs of Memorial Hermann Hospital along with an active research and teaching program.

     During the past six years, Dr. Smalling also has emerged as a leader in cardiovascular education for professionals through his annual cardiology symposium, Concepts in Contemporary Cardiology. This past October, the meeting drew more than 300 cardiologists, cardiac and vascular surgeons, cardiology technologists, cardiac and critical care nurses, and students throughout the county and United States for a three-day overview (barbecue included) of the latest in emerging and accepted techniques and methodologies for treating patients in all areas of cardiovascular disease.

     For two days, live procedures were televised directly to the conference’s Galleria-area site from Baylor and the Methodist DeBakey Heart Center, the Texas Heart Institute at St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital, Memorial Hermann Hospital, and the UT Health Science Center at San Antonio – demonstrating the quality and scope of the course’s offerings. In all, eight different institutions participated in the program, with a dozen course directors representing institutions throughout the Texas Medical Center and beyond to make this one of the most comprehensive and collaborative educational programs in cardiology to be found.

     Check out www.uth.tmc.edu/cme for all continuing medical education information.

LIFETIME MEMBERSHIP DRIVE BONUS The Alumni Association has a special bonus for those individuals who purchase a lifetime membership during 2003. For a limited time, we will be sending out a free, autographed copy of the UT-Houston Medical School history book Conversation with a Medical School. This complete history of The University of Texas Medical School at Houston was written by Drs. Bryant Boutwell, associate dean for Community Affairs and Public Education, and John P. McGovern. A lifetime membership to the Alumni Association costs only $500, which is substantially less compared to other local medical schools. To see the benefits, click on med.uth.tmc.edu/administration/alumni

Cardiology Forum again a success
By Bryant Boutwell, Dr.P.H.