The DAA has been awarded every year from 1968 to 2002, and biennially since 2003, at Reunion events. A total of 41 alumni have received the DAA, which represents 1 percent of all living RMC alumni (3,907) or 0.4 percent of all living RMC and GME alumni.
In 2016, the Executive Committee expanded the DAA award criteria to include three categories, so as to highlight the full breadth of RMC alumni accomplishments. Recipients will be honored at All Alumni Weekend on Oct. 21-22, 2022.
Award 1: Distinguished Alumni Award in Medical Research and Education
The DAA in Medical Research and Education honors alumni who are pioneers in the academic medical field and have demonstrated excellence in medicine through innovative research and/or outstanding physician education.
Award 2: Distinguished Alumni Award in Clinical Excellence
The DAA in Clinical Excellence honors alumni who are national leaders in their specialty and have demonstrated excellence in the field of medicine through a commitment to clinical expertise and high-quality patient care.
Award 3: Distinguished Alumni Award in Leadership, Service or Innovation
The DAA in Leadership, Service or Innovation honors alumni who are leaders in their field and have brought distinction to the college through their professional achievements or a commitment to service.
The DAA was established to “honor alumni who have given distinguished service to the profession of medicine” and is presented to a graduate who has “brought distinction to the college through broadly recognized professional accomplishments.” It is the highest honor that the RMCAA can bestow.
To be eligible for a nomination of any Distinguished Alumni Awards, a candidate:
The Campbell Alumni Service Award, or CASA has been awarded every year from 1984 to 2002, and biennially since 2003, at Reunion events. This award honors any alumnus, student, trustee, or faculty or staff member who has demonstrated dedication and commitment to the college or alumni community.
Clifford J. Kavinsky, MD, PhD, FACC, MSCAI is a professor of medicine and pediatrics at Rush University Medical Center. He’s held the position of director of the Coronary Care Unit, fellowship program director, director of the medical practice, and assistant director of the Division of Cardiology. He is currently the director of Rush’s Center for Adult Structural Heart Disease, and Section Chief of Structural and Interventional Cardiology. He is also the associate program director of the Rush University Fellowship in Cardiovascular Disease, overseeing the training of numerous current and future leaders in academic and clinical cardiology.
Kavinsky is an expert on catheter-based therapies for heart and vascular disease, and an internationally recognized leader in the use of novel treatments for adults with congenital and structural heart disease. He is a Master Fellow in the Society of Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions, with U.S. News and World Report nationally ranking him as, “Top Doctor” in Interventional Cardiology. Kavinsky serves as associate editor of the Journal of Structural Heart Disease and is Chairman of the Structural Heart Disease Committee of the Society of Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions.
Alan A. Harris, MD, is currently the associate chairman in the Department of Medicine, associate program director of the Internal Medicine residency program, chair of the Department of Medicine Advisory Committee, hospital epidemiologist and senior attending physician in the Division of Infectious Diseases, and voluntary physician at the John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital of Cook County. Harris is a professor of Internal Medicine and Preventive Medicine, and the Emeritus James Lowenstine Professor of Internal Medicine in Rush Medical College.
Over the course of his career, Harris has been the vice chair of Academic Affairs and Internal Medicine residency program director in the Department of Medicine and served as chair of the Admissions Committee of Rush Medical College and chair of the Infection Control Committee of Rush University Medical Center. He recently completed a term as the interim director of the Division of Infectious Diseases.
A prior epidemiologist and assistant superintendent of the Municipal Contagious Disease Hospital of the City of Chicago Department of Health, Harris currently serves on the Department of Health Technical Advisory Committee for Communicable Diseases and Bioterrorism. Under the Governorship of James R. Thompson, he served on the Board of Public Health Advisors of the State of Illinois. He is also a Master in the American College of Physicians, a Fellow in the Infectious Disease Society of America and the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America, and a member of the American College of Epidemiology.