2000 Commencement Exercises, number 002

Abstract

Michael Ellis DeBakey (September 7, 1908 – July 11, 2008) was a Lebanese-American cardiac surgeon, scientist, and medical educator. Dr. DeBakey developed the roller pump, which became an essential component of the heart–lung machine that made open-heart surgery possible. He was one of the first to perform coronary artery bypass surgery, and in 1953 he performed the first successful carotid endarterectomy. A pioneer in the development of an artificial heart, DeBakey was the first to use an external heart pump successfully. In 1999 TAMU established the Michael E. DeBakey Institute for Comparative Cardiovascular Science and Biomedical Devices.--- Dr. H. Richard Adams serving in the Texas A&M Corps of Cadets for four years and graduating with his DVM in 1966. From 1992 to 1998 he served the University of Missouri-Columbia as dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine. However, his time at the University of Missouri-Colombia was cut short in 1998 when he answered the siren call of his alma mater. This led him to become the first Carl B. King Dean of Veterinary Medicine at the Texas A&M University College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, where he stayed from 1998 to 2009. --- Dr. Glen A. Laine, Professor and Head of Physiology and Pharmacology