UA College of Community Health Sciences Launches New Lecture Series

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The University of Alabama College of Community Health Sciences/School of Medicine Tuscaloosa Campus has started a new lecture series for medical students and residents named in honor of a long-time and distinguished member of the college’s faculty.

The Winternitz Conferences will feature prominent speakers who will address such topics as ethics, communication, professionalism and quality improvement, among others. The conferences are named in honor of William W. Winternitz, M.D., who joined the college in 1977 and chaired the department of internal medicine for many years. Winternitz is now retired and living in Tuscaloosa.

The conferences replace the lecture series “First Friday,” which Winternitz created more than two decades ago. That lecture series exposed college faculty, staff, medical students and residents to other disciplines at The University of Alabama, including music, art and literature.

Speakers were typically University faculty and staff who provided lectures, readings and performances in their areas of expertise. This approach will continue with the Winternitz Conference series, but the topics will be selected as a way to meet the college’s commitment to a well-rounded education, addressing the art, as well as the science, of medicine, said E. Eugene Marsh, M.D., dean of the College of Community Health Sciences.

A native of Connecticut, Winternitz was the son of two physicians. He received his medical degree from John Hopkins University, where he also completed a residency. Opting for a career in academic medicine, Winternitz returned to New England, where he spent nine years at Yale University as a research fellow and then as an assistant professor of internal medicine.

After completing a fellowship at the University College Hospital Medical School in London, Winternitz joined the faculty at the University of Kentucky as chief of the endocrinology division.

It was there that he worked closely with William R. Willard, M.D., the founding dean of The University of Alabama College of Community Health Sciences.

At UA, Winternitz served as chair of the college’s department of internal medicine and was later appointed director of medical student affairs. He was a valuable addition to the teaching efforts of the college; his strength as a classical clinician and teacher who taught by example was recognized by faculty, students and residents as representing the best in academic medicine. Under his direction, the department of internal medicine was recognized for its strong and dedicated cadre of teachers.

In recognition of his contributions to teaching, Winternitz received an award from the UA National Alumni Association for excellence in teaching.

The Winternitz Conferences will be held at noon on the first Friday of the month (September through May) at the College of Community Health Sciences/School of Medicine Tuscaloosa Campus building located at 850 5th Avenue East. For more information, contact Vicki Johnson at 205/348-0093 or 205/348-1288.