Legacy of Excellence Digital Flipbook

LEGACY OF EXCELLENCE: DAVID W. KENNEDY, MD PRESIDENT FROM 2008-2009

O riginally from England, David W. Kennedy, MD, attended Ampleforth College in York, England, and received his medical degree from the Royal College of Surgeons in Dublin. As a medical student, he was an operating room technician and worked with a well-known otolaryngologist who at the time was performing cutting-edge pituitary surgery, which piqued his interest in the field. His uncle, another otolaryngologist, also had a great influence on Dr. Kennedy’s career path. “But what I didn’t realize when I started general surgery at [Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland], having come from Ireland, was that I was actually meant to go back to Dublin and be a cardiac surgeon,” he explained. “Someone had forgotten to tell me that, so when I decided to go into otolaryngology, the then-chair of general surgery at Hopkins was not particularly delighted.” He completed a residency in otolaryngology at Johns Hopkins in 1978. Dr. Kennedy went on to join the faculty at Johns Hopkins University, initially as an otologist and neurotologist for six years, before moving into the sinus area and becoming regarded as a pioneer and innovator in endoscopic sinus and skull base surgery. As his practice progressed, Dr. Kennedy became involved with the International Society of Inflammation and Allergy of the Nose (ISIAN) and became president in the late 1980s. In the early 1990s, he was named president of the American Rhinologic Society, and later president of the International Rhinologic Society. Dr. Kennedy’s involvement with the AAO HNS/F began with committee service, including the International Committee, the Sinus and Paranasal Committee, and then on the Boards of Directors. “Eventually, the opportunity came [for me] to run for Academy president,” he said. At the time, Dr.

Kennedy was professor of otorhinolaryngology-head and neck surgery at the University of Pennsylvania Health System, as well as chair of the Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, senior vice president, and vice dean for professional services. “I had to make a decision; did I want to continue as the vice dean?” said Dr. Kennedy. “I had already served as chair there for 12 years at that point, and [had] moved into the vice dean role. That was a significant decision because that would have been an ongoing position. On the other hand, the opportunity to serve as Academy president was an exciting one, and I felt that that was probably the best way to go.

123