University of Toledo names professorship for doctor

4/28/2009

The University of Toledo is recognizing the service of a trustee, retired surgeon, and professor emeritus with an endowed professorship in his name.

The S. Amjad Hussain Endowed Professorship in Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery will help bring a talented, nationally renowned faculty member to campus, said Dr. Jeffrey Gold, UT's executive vice president for health affairs and dean of the medical college.

"The ability to recruit and retain faculty into a named or endowed professorship gives the university, and in this case the medical college, more leverage in the market to bring talented people," Dr. Gold said.

It's a fitting tribute to Dr. Hussain who is a "remarkable individual," Dr. Gold said.

Dr. Hussain, a thoracic and cardiovascular surgeon who retired in 2004, said he is honored.

"I was overwhelmed. I was flattered because I know the significance of a named professorship in academic centers," he said. "I always thought I did whatever I had to do - teach at the medical college, private practice, and other things. I still believe I did not do extraordinary things."

An annual lecture series is being created in his honor, called the S. Amjad Hussain Annual Lecture in the History of Medicine and Surgery. The first will be in August.

The endowed professorship and lecture series add to Dr. Hussain's contributions to the university.

A member of the UT Board of Trustees, Dr. Hussain was a faculty member for more than 30 years at the former Medical University of Ohio's department of surgery and he continues to teach because it a passion for him.

He also returns to Khyber Medical College in Peshawar, Pakistan, to teach annually at his alma mater and set up a program in which students there can visit UT for several months of research.

Dr. Hussain and his family also established a visiting lecture series in the name of his late wife, Dorothy Hussain.

"It is a lot for one man to do for an institution, but he is not an ordinary man," Dr. Gold said. "He is an extraordinary individual."

Dr. Hussain's family contributed a foundational pledge of $500,000 to help start the endowment to fund the professorship, which requires $1 million to fund.

An event is planned for 6:30 tonight in the Hilton Hotel on UT's health science campus to honor Dr. Hussain.

"I always believe if I make my home in a particular community and make a good living then part of that has to be given back," Dr. Hussain said. "Most people do that in their own way."

Dr. Hussain is the author of more than 50 scientific papers and 10 books and is a contributor to The Blade.