Dr. Harvey Bender Jr.
Bender set to lead American College of Surgeons
Dr. Harvey W. Bender Jr., professor of Cardiac and Thoracic Surgery, Emeritus, has been named president-elect of the American College of Surgeons.
Bender will assume the presidency of the august scientific and educational association of surgeons next October.
Bender served as chair of the Department of Cardiac and Thoracic Surgery for 25 years, leading the program to national and international prominence. He initiated the department's residency training program and was a pivotal figure in the growth and development of all aspects of the institution's general and thoracic surgical programs.
"The American College of Surgeons will indeed be in good hands," said Dr. Harry R. Jacobson, vice chancellor for Health Affairs. "Harvey Bender has served American surgery, medical education, surgical research and Vanderbilt well, and no one is more deserving of this distinction than he is.
"I'm sure Harvey will bring the same excellence of leadership to the college that he brought to the Department of Cardiac and Thoracic Surgery for so many years."
Bender, who stepped down as chair of the department three years ago, received his M.D. degree with high honors from Baylor University College of Medicine in 1959. He joined the Vanderbilt faculty in 1971 and was honored with the Emeritus title last spring.
Bender was succeeded by Dr. Davis C. Drinkwater Jr., William S. Stoney Jr. Professor and Chair of the Department of Cardiac and Thoracic Surgery.
The American College of Surgeons was founded in 1913 to improve the quality of care for the surgical patient by setting high standards for surgical education and practice. The college currently has more than 56,000 fellows, including more than 3,400 fellows in other countries, making it the largest organization of surgeons in the world.