Selwyn Vickers, M.D., FACS, senior vice president for Medicine and dean of the School of Medicine, has been named president-elect of the American Surgical Association (ASA). The ASA was founded in 1880 and is the nation's oldest and most prestigious surgical organization. Its members include the nation’s most prominent surgeons from the country's leading academic medical institutions. The primary mission of the Association is to be the premier organization for surgical science and scholarship and to provide a national forum for presenting the developing state of the art and science of general and sub-specialty surgery and the elevation of the standards of the medical/surgical profession.
Vickers was named president-elect at the ASA’s Annual Meeting, which took place April 11-13, in Dallas, Texas. He will serve as president-elect until next year when he will assume the role of president. He will be the third black president of the ASA and the second president from UAB.
“There is no one better than Dr. Vickers who represents leadership and scholarship in surgery,” said Herbert Chen, M.D., chair of the Department of Surgery. “He has had so many contributions to the field and has mentored/sponsored many faculty, residents and students in surgery. Through his leadership of the organization, the American Surgical Association will continue to be the premier organization.”
“This nomination and election represent the highest honor that one can be bestowed with in the surgical profession of the United States,” added Kirby Bland, M.D., a past president of the ASA, the Fay Fletcher Kerner Professor of Surgery and chair emeritus of the Department of Surgery. “Dr. Vickers was chosen for this unique prestigious distinction based on his many scientific contributions to the surgical literature, his renowned research, his educational and humanitarian commitments, and his internationally recognized leadership of the surgical profession—including profound personal commitment to care for his patients.”
Vickers earned baccalaureate and medical degrees from Johns Hopkins University and completed surgical training there, including a chief residency. In 1994 he joined the UAB faculty as an assistant professor in the Department of Surgery. From 1995 to 1999 he was a Robert Wood Johnson Research Fellow. From 2000 to 2006 he directed the section of gastrointestinal surgery. In 2000 he became the first member of the faculty chosen by students as commencement speaker. In 2006 Vickers became the Jay Phillips Professor and Chair of the Department of Surgery at the University of Minnesota Medical School, where he served until 2013 when he returned to UAB to become dean of the School of Medicine and senior vice president for Medicine.
“It’s truly an honor to be selected for this prestigious position,” said Vickers. “The ASA is the oldest and most prestigious academic surgical organization in the world and has played an important role in my development as a surgeon. I’m eager to serve as President-Elect for 2019-2020 and as President for 2020-2021.”