Legacy of Excellence Digital Flipbook

LEGACY OF EXCELLENCE: RONALD B. KUPPERSMITH, MD, MBA PRESIDENT FROM 2009-2010

R onald B. Kuppersmith, MD, MBA, was the first in his family to choose a career as a physician. Attending the University of Michigan, he studied economics prior to entering medical school. Early in medical school, he took a rotation that turned out to be of great importance. Charles J. Krause, MD, a future AAO-HNS/F President, was then chair of the Department of Otolaryngology, and Carol R. Bradford, MD, MS, a future AAO-HNS/F President, was the chief resident to supervise his work. Dr. Kuppersmith was quickly enamored with the specialty and recalled finding a breakroom in Ann Arbor with copies of the AAO-HNS Bulletin and particularly enjoying the society’s rich history. As Dr. Kuppersmith continued medical school, he did an away rotation at the University of California in San Diego, his wife’s hometown. A junior resident befriended Dr. Kuppersmith and allowed him to go along when he had to take call. That resident was Al Merati, MD, future AAO-HNS/F President. He also had the opportunity to work with Gayle E. Woodson, MD, yet another future AAO-HNS/F President during the rotation. On completion of medical school in 1993, Dr. Kuppersmith became a resident at Baylor College of Medicine. Again, his timing was providential; at Baylor he trained with the renowned physician and Academy leader, Bobby R. Alford, MD. The experience set a high bar that Dr. Kuppersmith found inspirational. Moving to Houston, Dr. Kuppersmith had a big realization—while the internet was widely used at the University of Michigan at the time, it was not commonly used elsewhere—so he built an online discussion group for otolaryngology and one of the first otolaryngology websites on the internet at Baylor.

His efforts at Baylor led him to help the Academy develop its website. “I am pretty sure I was the first resident to serve on a committee at the Academy, which seems funny now,” he said. “I was put on the Medical Informatics Committee as a junior resident.” And then the next year, he said, the new president removed him since he was only a resident. His ties to the Academy waned as his residency ended. Meanwhile, an online discussion board Dr. Kuppersmith developed for otolaryngologists had become quite popular. Dr. Kuppersmith took advantage of this new market, selling the platform to an internet company during the dot.com boom. In 2000, Dr. Kuppersmith

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