The results of this year’s inaugural Faculty-to-Faculty Awards are in.
The award recipients, who were named in May, included Parker Crutchfield, PhD, Tom Melgar, MD, Lauren Piper, DO, and Richard Roach, MD. The Faculty-to-Faculty Awards, which are handed out by the medical school’s Office of Faculty Affairs, recognize faculty who were nominated by their peers for significant professional achievements, as well as contributions and service to WMed and the wider community. The recipients will be recognized at the WMed faculty meeting in August.
Dr. Roach, who is an associate professor in the Department of Medicine, received the Lifetime Achievement Award. The award recognizes a faculty member who is nearing retirement and has amassed significant achievements and contributions to the medical school. Dr. Roach is set to retire from WMed at the end of June.
In his letter nominating Dr. Roach for the Lifetime Achievement Award, Mark Loehrke, MD, chair of the medical school’s Department of Medicine, said Dr. Roach “has been a spectacular faculty member in every way possible” and “transformed the medical care in an entire country” over the last 30 years with his almost yearly trips with residents and students to Madagascar through the SALFA organization.
“Dr. Roach is a spectacular teacher, and every week that a resident can round with Dr. Roach is considered a gift to that resident,” Dr. Loehrke said. “Dr. Roach not only teaches medicine and the most up-to-date practices, but he relates the history of medicine as well as telling many stories from his past. Dr. Roach is also the ultimate humanist, and his communication skills and connections with patients and families are legendary. Dr. Roach is simply beloved by every person he interacts with, medical students, residents, fellow attendings, patients and their families.”
Dr. Roach was also nominated for the Lifetime Achievement Award by Dr. Mark Schauer, an assistant professor in the Department of Medicine. In his nomination letter, Dr. Schauer said Dr. Roach is “a dedicated physician and scholar” who has dedicated more than 20 years of service to the Kalamazoo medical community.
“These are remarkable and varied accomplishments but what I admire most about Richard Roach is his humility, generosity, gentle nature, and kind heart,” Dr. Schauer said. “He is always willing to lend a sympathetic ear and will offer sage advice if asked … He is a great clinician, a scholar and in many ways a true Renaissance Man.”
Meanwhile, Dr. Melgar, who is a professor in the departments of Medicine and Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, received the Distinguished Service Award. The award recognizes a faculty member who has provided significant service to WMed, the community, and the medical community at the local, regional, national, and international levels.
Dr. Melgar was nominated for the award by Dr. Jayne Barr, program director of the Medicine-Pediatrics residency program at WMed. In her nomination letter, Dr. Barr said Dr. Melgar is a physician who “unselfishly provides significant services to WMed and the medical community.”
Dr. Barr noted Dr. Melgar’s passion for global health, which includes his leadership of the yearly global health rotation in Peru and his work over the past seven years as a leader of a global health tract for residents and medical students.
“It is my pleasure to be his colleague and friend, and to be able to appreciate the great work he is doing and the services that he selflessly provides,” Dr. Barr said.
Dr. Crutchfield, an associate professor in the Program in Medical Ethics, Humanities and Law at WMed, and Dr. Piper, an assistant professor in the medical school’s Department of Family and Community Medicine, each received the Faculty of the Year Award. The award recognizes a faculty member whose work exemplifies the mission and values of WMed.
In his letter to nominate Dr. Crutchfield, Tyler Gibb, JD, PhD, co-chief of the Program in Medical Ethics, Humanities and Law, said Dr. Crutchfield was worthy of the honor as his work had placed him “at the very pinnacle to which all WMed faculty ought to aspire.”
Dr. Gibb lauded Dr. Crutchfield for his work as vice chair of the medical school’s Institutional Review Board, as well as his leadership in the launch of the new WMed Health Ethics Committee.
“Dr. Crutchfield is a prolific scholar and a gracious collaborator,” Dr. Gibb said. “One of the pillars of a faculty member’s role is to meaningfully contribute to their academic field. Not only does Dr. Crutchfield do this regularly and with great impact, but he includes others. In the past 12 months, he has published eight peer-reviewed articles. The majority of these are with co-authors, including students and mentors.”
Dr. Steve Pollens, an assistant professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine, submitted a letter on behalf of himself and other faculty from the Family Medicine residency program in Kalamazoo to nominate Dr. Piper for the Faculty of the Year award.
Dr. Pollens said that Dr. Piper has worked “tirelessly, with diligence and patience” as clinic director of the Family Medicine clinic at the Family Health Center in Kalamazoo. Additionally, she works at the YWCA of Kalamazoo domestic assault shelter while also enhancing the maternity care program within the Department of Family and Community Medicine.
“She consistently works above and beyond expectations to assist patients, residents, medical students, support staff and her colleagues,” Dr. Pollens said. “As one of our faculty put it, ‘Lauren cares and has the ability to translate that care and compassion into actionable results that improve patient care and medical education. And she does it across institutions - not many others can or do that.’”