Honoring Health Care Pioneers & Legends

Monroe Dunaway "M.D." AndersonMonroe Dunaway “M.D.” Anderson lived a simple life. He was guided by the basic principles of hard work, thrift and self-denial. He believed in personal charity for those who were afflicted. As set forth in his Trust, he dedicated his...

Governor Phil BredesenPhil Bredesen has combined both private and public health care experience and expertise in an unusual and highly-effective way. He began in the private sector, where he is best known as an entrepreneur who started an HMO company—HealthAmerica—in...

Kathryn M. Edwards, M.D.Kathryn M. Edwards, M.D. earned her medical degree from the University of Iowa Medical School in 1973. After completing her residency and fellowships, she began her faculty tenure at Vanderbilt University joining one other pediatric infectious...

Donald S. MacNaughtonDonald S. MacNaughton earned his bachelor’s degree in 1939 and his law degree in 1948, both from Syracuse University. During WWII, MacNaughton served as a 1st Lieutenant in the U.S. Army Air Corps in the South Pacific. After working with...

G. Scott Morris, M.D.G. Scott Morris earned his B.A. from the University of Virginia, his Master’s in Divinity from Yale University, and his M.D. from Emory University. In 1987, he founded the Church Health Center of Memphis, where he has served as CEO to this day....

Tom CigarranTom Cigarran received his Bachelor of Science degree from Villanova University and his M.B.A. from New York University’s Stern School of Business. He began his career in health care in the occupational and preventive health fields in New York, first with a...

Autry O.V. “Pete” DeBuskAfter graduation from Lincoln Memorial University (LMU) with a Bachelor of Science in biology, Pete DeBusk entered the health care industry. In 1973, he founded DeRoyal Industries, Inc. and today it is a world-wide manufacturer and distributor...

William E. Evans, Pharm.D.William E. Evans was born in Clarksville, Tennessee, and received his BSc and Pharm.D. degrees from the University of Tennessee (1973, 1974). Dr. Evans joined St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital as a student in 1972 and dedicated his career...

James E.K. Hildreth, Ph.D., M.D.Dr. James Hildreth graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University, was selected as the first African American Rhodes Scholar from Arkansas (1978), graduated from Oxford University with a PhD in Immunology (1982) and received a...

Robert Sanders, M.D.Dr. Robert Sanders was born in 1927 in Tullahoma, Tennessee. After enlisting in the Army and serving 18 months as a surveyor, he went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Vanderbilt University. The G.I. Bill helped Sanders pay for his...