Keck School honors Donald Skinner at retirement celebration
Brian Morri
"Don Skinner represents the best of medicine at USC," said Keck School Dean Carmen A. Puliafito. He went on to say that there are a number of dimensions in academic physicians that he finds to be exemplary, all of which Skinner possesses: commitment to clinical excellence combined with clinical innovation, institutional commitment and commitment to research excellence.
"Very few professors at medical schools can claim as much impact on clinical care of patients as Don Skinner can," said Puliafito. "Everything he did here was about helping patients and helping USC."
A urologic surgeon at the forefront of the profession for more than 40 years, Skinner is known worldwide as a pioneer in the surgical treatment of bladder cancer.
Closer to home, Skinner is recognized for laying the foundation for the urology program at the Keck School in the early 1980s.
When Skinner first came to USC, he was the sole faculty member in a urology program with zero federal research funds. Today, the department of urology at USC is one of the best in the country.
Skinner began his career in 1964, after graduating from Yale University's medical school. He trained in general surgery with the Air Force and at the Harvard University-affiliated Massachusetts General Hospital, where he also did his urology residency. After a year of subsequent teaching at Harvard, Skinner joined the urology faculty at UCLA. In 1980, he became a professor of surgery at USC, as well as the chief of the former division of urologic surgery.
During his career, Skinner has been the recipient of some of the most prestigious awards in urology, including both the Gold Cystoscope Award and the Barringer Medal from the American Association of Genitourinary Surgeons, the Huggins Medal, which is the highest award bestowed by the Society of Urologic Oncology, and the American Urological Association's highest honor, the Ramon Guiteras Award. He was also awarded USC's highest honor, the Presidential Medallion, in 2005.
Gary Lieskovsky, holder of the Donald G. Skinner Chair in Urology at the Keck School of Medicine, thanked Skinner for his outstanding leadership over the past 29 years. He outlined the remarkable career of Skinner as a pioneering surgeon, prolific researcher, compassionate clinician and acclaimed professor.
Puliafito also read a letter from USC President Steven B. Sample commending Skinner on his highly successful career and thanking him for his service to USC and to countless patients.
Adding humor to the jovial celebration, Bill Watson, former chief development officer at the Keck School, regaled the large crowd with tales of Skinner's techniques for raising donations—many of which included taking prospective donors out to the golf course.
An avid golfer, Skinner received a gift of a weekend stay at the Pelican Hill Resort in Newport Beach, which includes two rounds of golf.
For his commitment to medicine and patient care, the outdoor seating in front of the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center and Hospital will be named in his honor upon completion.
Skinner thanked his family, and said they are the "key to everything that has happened to me." He also acknowledged the support of his mentors, grateful patients, the Department of Urology and his colleagues at USC.
"Retirement is a time to reflect back on an extraordinary time and to think of this as a thank you party for everyone here who has played a role in my career and my success," said Skinner. "The soul of Norris has made this a very special time of my life."
He gave special thanks to Steve Garnett, who has helped coordinate Skinner's clinic for 24 years, and Wendi Van Hecke, who has been Skinner's secretary for 19 of her 22 years at USC.
Skinner also offered praise for the department's new chair, Inderbir Gill, and left words of encouragement for the future of urology at USC.
"We have built the foundation and now it's ready for a skyscraper to be built on top of it," he concluded.
Latest stories
- MSW@USC Student to Compete in 2012 Paralympics February 10, 2012 9:22 AM
- Judy Woodruff: Public Broadcasting Has Changed for the Good February 10, 2012 8:49 AM
- USC Price School Celebrates Naming Gift February 9, 2012 2:45 PM
-
For Journalists »
-
USC in the News
for 2/8/2012 »-
The Chronicle of Higher Education mentioned USC’s $6 billion fundraising campaign. The story noted that USC had already raised $1 billion in a “quiet phase,” including the $200 million naming gift from USC Trustee and alumnus David Dornsife and wife Dana Dornsife to the USC Dornsife College.
The Guardian (U.K.) highlighted two major gifts to USC in a list of the 10 biggest philanthropic benefactors in America. The list included the $200 million naming gift from USC Trustee and alumnus David Dornsife and wife Dana Dornsife to the USC Dornsife College, and the $110 million gift from USC Trustee and USC Viterbi School alumnus John Mork and wife Julie to create the USC Mork Family Scholars Program.
The New York Times featured the USC U.S.-China Institute documentary “Assignment: China — The Week that Changed the World.” The documentary, part of a series, examines media coverage of the 1972 Nixon trip that reshaped U.S.-China relations after a quarter century of isolation and hostility. “People look back now and take it for granted that the outcome was preordained,” said the institute’s Mike Chinoy, who produced the documentary. Voice of America also featured the story.
Los Angeles Times featured the Oscar Senti-meter, a tool developed by the USC Annenberg School, Los Angeles Times and IBM that analyzes thousands of tweets about the Academy Awards nominees. The story noted that Mexican actor Demian Bechir received an enormous boost on Twitter the day of the nominations, with a total of 6,893 tweets mentioning him, a 47-fold increase from the day before. The story noted the tool uses language-recognition technology developed in collaboration with USC Viterbi School’s Signal Analysis and Interpretation Lab.
The Times of India (India) featured a three-day medical emergency training workshop organized in association with USC. At the workshop, held at GCS Medical College in India, 50 doctors and more than 100 paramedics learned how to improve emergency support systems. William Mallon of the Keck School of USC said that discussion topics included the use of portable ultrasonic devices to scan patients. “The ultrasound applications help physicians make accurate and timely decisions,” he noted. Daily News & Analysis (India) also featured the workshop.
-
-
Campus News
- Capital Connections
- USC faculty, staff and alumni in Washington, D.C., and Sacramento
- In Print
- New and recent books written or edited by USC faculty and staff
- Family Matters
- Achievements and awards
- Obituaries