The San Antonio Express
Sunday March 10, 2002
Medina Helped Many Hispanics Pursue Careers in Medicine
Laredo native taught for 25 years at UTHSC
Miguel A. Medina, a retired health science center professor and
indefatigable advocate for increased Hispanic enrollment in medical
school, died Wednesday.
Colleagues said Medina was devoted to encouraging Hispanics to pursue
careers in medicine or health care.
"He was the godfather in terms of what he did for minority students who
wanted to go into medicine," said Dr. Juan Reyna, an urologist who
recalled how Medina guided him through the process of applying to
medical school. "He is responsible for hundreds of careers."
"Dr. Ernesto Parra, like Reyna a past president of the Mexican American
Physicians Association (MAPA), said Medina rejuvenated the
organization's scholarship program...
>
"He coordinated efforts between the University and MAPA to find funds
for scholarships and he also was very involved in our med prep program,"
said Parra...
MAPA named Miguel A. Medina Scholarship in his honor in recognition of
his work with minorities...
Born in Laredo on July 5, 1932, Medina was raised in San Antonio. He
earned Bachelor of Science and master of biochemistry degrees from St.
Marys University.
He graduated from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical
School-now known as the UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas.
Interested in research, Medina obtained a doctorate in pharmacology
instead of a medical degree.
Medina spent 25 years at San Antonio's health science center; he was
associate dean of biomedical sciences when he retired in 1996.
Earlier in his career, he was a visiting Fulbright professor in Peru,
where he taught health care workers what medications to administer to
people who lived in high altitudes.
Medina's abiding interest was in seeking out disadvantaged children and
developing their potential to become physicians, said his wife, Johnnie
Word Medina.
"Developing programs and obtaining grants for them to go to medical
school was his crowning glory," she said...
Top of page
UTHSCSA President Francisco Cigarroa
March 8, 2002
Dr. Cigarroa stated, "I want to express my gratitude for the remarkable
life and influence of Dr. Miguel Medina, who died suddenly this week.
His many years of leadership in our Graduate School, his role in the
establishment of our Hispanic Center of Excellence and the direct
influence he had on thousands of students-from high school to graduate
school-will not be forgotten. He was a masterful scientist and educator
and our thoughts and prayers are with his family."
Top of page
Martha Medrano, M.D., M.P.H.
Director, UTHSCSA Medical Hispanic
Center of Excellence
March 10, 2002
"I have been asked to say a few words about my mentor, Dr. Miguel
Medina. For those of you who do not know me my name is Martha Medrano
and I am the Director of the UTHSCSA Hispanic Center of Excellence. Dr.
Medina was the first director of this center and until his death
continued to consult at the center. Three goals of the center are
student recruitment, student retention and faculty development. These
are three activities that Dr. Medina was involved in most of his career
and that intertwined our lives. In 1977 I came to the UTHSCSA as a
medical student applicant. During interview day I met Dr. Medina. His
warm and welcoming style helped my decision to rank San Antonio first.
I was the only premed graduate that year from El Paso to attend UTHSCSA
Medical School instead of UT Galveston, which was the tradition. While
I was a medical student, Dr Medina always had encouraging words for me
when I questioned whether I belonged in medical school. He was always
there at the right time, during the rough times. I graduated thanks to
his encouragement.
"During my residency, he encouraged me to consider an academic career.
He knew I had been an MBRS student. I question what he saw in me that I
did not see in myself. I could not see becoming a faculty member like
him. He was an outstanding teacher and researcher. He would say,
"Think about it." I did and his encouragement helped me decide to
accept a faculty position in psychiatry in 1987.
"He followed my academic career and advocated for me with the department
chair to fill one of three faculty fellowship positions with the
Hispanic Center of Excellence.
"I am who I am today because of Dr. Medina's optimism and unfailing
encouragement. I admired his dedication and "giving forward" to those
that followed him.
"I admired Dr. Medina because he respected people as people. He treated
Hispanics, blacks and whites, men and women as equals.
"I admired Dr. Medina's energy. Even though he was retired, he would
come by the center and check in at least once a week. I would pick his
brain for ideas when stumped. He always had plenty. He pulled up his
sleeves and helped with grants when we were in a bind. In August we
wrote two grants in a month - an NIH Endowment grant (approved for
funding) and a HRSA grant (funded). He helped write the HCOE
competitive renewal which was recently approved for refunding.
"I admired his sense of humor. He would quiz me on what Mexican slang
words I had learned from the Hispanic addicts in the research project.
He would say "eye te watcho" as he left the center.
"Dr. Medina strived for excellence. In his honor the Hispanic
Excellence awards for outstanding UTHSCSA faculty and students will be
renamed the Dr. Miguel Medina Hispanic Excellence Awards.
"I want to thank his wife, Johnnie and his family for sharing him with
me, the HCOE staff and many others with similar stories."
Top of page
Leonard Lawrence, M.D.
UTHSCSA School of Medicine
Associate Dean for Student Affairs
March 10, 2002
"Winston Churchill once said: 'To perceive a path and to point it out is
one thing, But to Blaze the trail and Labor to construct the path Is a
harder task.'
Miguel Medina performed the harder task.
"...He would work with the High school counselors and identify potential
applicants. That several of those young persons went on to outstanding
professional careers is also a tribute to Mike "Medina".
"In 1984, following the publication of Secretary Hecklers report of the
status of Minority Health, it was Mike during interaction with the
Department of Health and Human Service who began to stimulate national
thinking about the Centers of Excellence Concept. The plan was to begin
with Historically Black Colleges and universities, and then, after
building solid congressional and organizational support, to extend to
other clearly defined underrepresented minority populations. And as you
all know we know have Asian Centers, Native American Centers and
Hispanic Centers. But you also Now know the Rest of the story about the
San Antonio axis and influence.
"It was Mike who saw the waste of resources which as inherent in the
competition between and among Texas health education facilities in their
efforts to increase minority inclusion. He is the person who
orchestrated the combined acceptance program for the pre-matriculation
programs in Texas. Because of Mike, a promising student could attend
the Medical Familiarization Program at UTMB in the summer between their
first and second years of undergraduate school. The next summer they
would attend either the Baylor Summer program or the Houston Summer
program here in San Antonio, all based on a single application. There
are persons in this room who directly have benefited from this activity.
When I told Leo Vela about it two days ago, he acknowledged that he too
had participated in those programs. That was Mike's work.
"Access, Equity and Excellence. Those were the watchwords of this
quiet, humble man. He and I would travel around the state on recruiting
trips, bringing the message to countless young persons in colleges that
some persons might not even know exist.
"St. Mary's University here was a special love for Mike. The four-year
HCOP Program which he helped developed within that institution remains a
national asset. A few years back he identified a young Mexican American
person, whose parents had been told within the local schools that the
young man would never amount to anything. Mike took him under his wing
for 4 years a St. Mary's and then turned him over to me for medical
school. That young man was a four-year president of his class. And
when we stood with him as the only student from this Medical School ever
to receive the Association of American Medical College's award as the
outstanding minority student in the nation, we both cried. That is
Mike's legacy."
Top of page || Homepage ||
Medical Hispanic Center of
Excellence homepage
