Family, friends and colleagues gathered at the Edmondson Faculty Center on Jan. 26 for a retirement celebration honoring the illustrious career of Donald G. Skinner, who has served as professor and chair of the Catherine and Joseph Aresty Department of Urology at the Keck School of Medicine since 1980.

"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.