John P. McGovern Centennial Award
Dr. John P. McGovern (1921-2007) was internationally renowned as a physician, scholar, and humanitarian. He was the founder of the McGovern Allergy Clinic in Houston, the world’s largest private allergy clinic, and the president of the boards of the John P. McGovern Foundation and the McGovern Fund for the Behavioral Sciences. He also served on several national boards, including a four-year appointment to the Board of Regents of the National Library of Medicine and the National Advisory Council of the Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism for the National Institutes of Health. At the time of his death, McGovern held 17 professorships at 15 universities and was the author or co-author of 252 publications, including 26 books. Wishing to share the success of his clinic and other business investments, Dr. McGovern’s philanthropy has benefited universities across Texas and around the country.
The John P. McGovern Centennial Award Lectureship in Health Communication was established in the College of Communication at the University of Texas at Austin in 1983 by a generous gift from the John P. McGovern Foundation. This endowment enables the college to invite a distinguished scholar or professional in the field of communication to campus to deliver a lecture sharing their knowledge and insights on the topic of health policy or the practice of health communication.
Recent recipients of the award include:
2006: Dr. Neal Baer, M.D., Executive Producer of “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit”
October 11, 2006
“Medicine & Hollywood: Raising Awareness Through Television”
Dr. Baer is a graduate of Harvard Medical School and an Emmy nominated writer and producer of several hit television series including “China Beach,” “ER,” and “Law and Order: SVU.” Through the stories and characters of these shows, he has aimed to educate the public about important health issues such as HIV and the link between Human Papilloma Virus and cervical cancer.
2005: Dr. Peter M. Sandman, Ph.D., Professor, Rutgers University and Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
September 26, 2005
“Bird Flu: Communicating the Risk of an Avian Influenza Pandemic”
Dr. Sandman is author of the book, Responding to Community Outrage and serves as a professor and full-time consultant specializing in risk communication. His formula of “Risk = Hazard + Outrage” has helped clients address issues of public controversies, crisis communication, and precaution advocacy for serious hazards.
2004: Dr. Vicki Freimuth, Ph.D., Professor, University of Georgia
April 2, 2004
“Anthrax, Ricin, Smallpox, SARS, West Nile Virus, Bird Flu: New Roles for Health Communicators in the Post 9/11 World”
Dr. Freimuth served as the Director of Communication at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from 1996-2003 during which time she created an identity and branding program for CDC and established the widely-used CDCynergy software training program in health and risk communication. She has been recognized for her efforts in the health promotion and has authored and edited several books on health information communication.
2003: Gina Kolata, Science & Medicine Reporter, New York Times
April 10, 2003
“Reporting on Science and Health: Where the Stories Lie”
In addition to writing over one thousand articles for the New York Times as a science and medicine reporter, Ms. Kolata has authored a number of books on a wide variety of health topics such as Baby Doctors: Probing the Limits of Fetal Medicine, Sex in America, and Ultimate Fitness: The Quest for Truth about Exercise and Health.