Renowned Pediatrician, JAMA Editor, and Pitt Alumna and Trustee Catherine DeAngelis to Deliver Featured Address at Annual Pitt Honors Convocation

PITTSBURGH—University of Pittsburgh Chancellor Mark A. Nordenberg has announced that pediatrician and Pitt Alumna Catherine D. DeAngelis, the first female editor in the 116-year history of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) and a University trustee, will be the featured speaker for Pitt's 28th annual Honors Convocation, at 3 p.m. Feb. 27 in Carnegie Music Hall, 4400 Forbes Ave., Oakland.

DeAngelis' address is titled "The Importance of Caring." Prior to the talk, Nordenberg will confer an honorary degree on her.

DeAngelis, who began her duties as JAMA editor three years ago, also is editor-in-chief of scientific publications and multimedia applications for the American Medical Association. She oversees not only JAMA, but all of its Archives publications and Web site content, as well. Previously, DeAngelis was editor-in-chief of Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine and vice dean for academic affairs and faculty at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. She continues to hold a faculty position there as professor of pediatrics.

Widely regarded as one of the best academic pediatricians in the country, DeAngelis received her M.D. from Pitt's School of Medicine in 1969 and the Master of Public Health degree from Harvard University in 1973. She is a member of the National Academy of Sciences' Institute of Medicine and has been an officer of numerous national academic societies, including past chair of the American Board of Pediatrics.

In 2000, she was named a Legacy Laureate, one of the highest honors bestowed on Pitt alumni, and in 2003, she received the Distinguished Fellows Alumni Award at Pitt's Honors Convocation.

She has written or edited 10 books, and written more than 150 professional journal articles, book chapters, editorials, and abstracts. Her recent publications focus on conflicts of interest in medicine, women in medicine, and medical education.

A number of Pitt faculty, staff, and alumni will be honored at Honors Convocation, which recognizes undergraduate, graduate, and professional academic achievement; student leadership; and faculty and staff accomplishments. Faculty and student awards will be announced at a later date.

Nordenberg and Pitt Alumni Association President Eva T. Blum will present three 2004 Distinguished Alumni Fellows awards, which recognize outstanding achievement in the alumni's respective professions and service to the community.

The recipients are Henry Richard Adams, Carl B. King Dean of Veterinary Medicine in the College of Veterinary Medicine at the Texas A&M University; William R. Baierl, president and CEO of the Baierl Family of Dealerships and the director of North Side Deposit Bank; and Betty Jane McWilliams, Pitt professor emerita and an internationally recognized expert in speech pathology and audiology.

Adams, who also taught at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School at Dallas and the University of Missouri-Columbia, earned the B.S. degree in veterinary science in 1965 and the Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree in 1966 at Texas A&M University, and the Ph.D. degree in pharmacology in 1972 at the University of Pittsburgh.

Adams was honored in 1998 by the Missouri House of Representatives with a Resolution of Appreciation and in 1997 by the Missouri Veterinary Medical Association as the Veterinarian of the Year. He has served on numerous editorial boards, including the American Journal of Veterinary Research, the United States Pharmacopeia, and Shock. He was president of the national Shock Society in 1994.

Baierl, a successful Pittsburgh businessman, earned the B.S. degree in physical education at the University of Pittsburgh in 1951 and received additional education in sales and management from the General Motors Institute, now Kettering University, from 1953 to 1954.

Baierl has demonstrated an interest in community physical education by his substantial contributions to facilities for children's sports, including the North Hills YMCA and the North Allegheny School District Multipurpose Center. Baierl is also the donor behind one of the most generous gifts in the University of Pittsburgh's history, the Baierl Recreation Center in the Petersen Events Center.

McWilliams, who received the B.S. degree from Ohio University in 1949 and the M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from Pitt in 1950 and 1953, respectively, has conducted pioneering research on cleft lips and palates and associated anomalies. She also has served as the director of four clinical programs, including 20 years of service in the University of Pittsburgh Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Center. She taught for nearly 30 years in Pitt's Department of Communication, until her retirement in 1991.

McWilliams has been president of the American Cleft-Palate-Craniofacial Association, the Cleft Palate Foundation, and the Pennsylvania Federation of the Cleft Palate Clinics. She is a Fellow of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association and the American College of Dentists.

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