Legacy of Excellence Digital Flipbook

LEGACY OF EXCELLENCE: G. RICHARD HOLT, MD, MPH EVP FROM FEBRUARY 2000-JUNE 2002

A s a boy growing up in rural central Missouri close to his grandfather’s farm, G. Richard Holt, MD, MPH, learned to lend a hand, work hard, do your best, and “buck up” when life became difficult. Dr. Holt had a skilled teacher in his grandfather who served in the Civilian Conservation Corps, a voluntary public work relief program that operated from 1933 to 1942 in the United States to help struggling communities during the Great Depression. In fact, Dr. Holt grew up in a tightly knit family that valued service and community witnessing a family deeply patriotic to their country. His father served in the United States Army in World War II and the Korean War. Dr. Holt came to have a vision of adulthood as honoring his family with hard work and serving the country. When his time came, he knew he would become a military officer. But a doctor? As he recalled, “I remember clearly, I was eight years old, waking up one morning, and just knowing that I was being called to be a doctor. And I got up and told my parents right away.” Medicine and the military would become his life’s path. Dr. Holt was introduced to otolaryngology during exposure to this specialty as a resident in general surgery and became fascinated with the delicate, complex, and interdependent structures of the ear, nose, and throat, in particular, the biophysics and bioengineering of these fascinating structures. Following his residency completion in otolaryngology head and neck surgery, Dr. Holt was doctor-drafted into the U.S. Army via the Berry Plan. He was assigned to Eisenhower Army Medical Center, where his wife, Dr. Jean Holt, an ophthalmologist, voluntarily accepted a commission to service as well. He served for over 30 years on active duty and in the Army National Guard and Army Reserves, with two deployments. He was

twice the U.S. Army selectee for nomination to NASA for astronaut candidacy and was in the final interview process on the second nomination. Leaving active duty, Dr. Holt joined the faculty of the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UTHSCSA), eventually becoming full professor, where he led the formation of the Division of Otorhinolaryngology into the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery. He was also previously professor of oral and maxillofacial surgery and chief of otolaryngology at the Audie Murphy VA Medical Center. His clinical practice encompassed the full range of the specialty, with a special interest in facial

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