Dr. Bryant Boutwell - It's 'Bout Time
Bryant Boutwell, Dr.P.H.
John P. McGovern, M.D. Professor of Oslerian Medicine
Special Advisor to the President
Distinguished Teaching Professor
The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
Dr. Bryant Boutwell has served the institutions of Houston’s Texas Medical Center for four decades and is the first holder of The John P. McGovern, M.D. Professorship in Oslerian Medicine at The University of Texas McGovern Medical School at Houston where he teaches at the McGovern Center for Humanities and Ethics while serving as Special Advisor to the president. His teaching interests include medical history, communications, and ethics. In 2013 he was named a Distinguished Teaching Professor by UT System and elected to membership in the UT System Academy of Health Science Education. Most recently he has been elected to the Board of Governors for the American Osler Society. During his career he has written award-winning newspaper columns, radio programs, and television programs including scripts narrated by Walter Cronkite. In 2000 he published a history of the Medical School and the Texas Medical Center while serving as Associate Dean of Community Affairs and Professional Education at the UTHealth McGovern Medical School (1993-2006). Sales from that book support the Boutwell/McGovern Endowed Scholarship Fund for medical students from disadvantaged backgrounds. During 2008-2010 he served as Associate Vice President for Accreditation and International Programs at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) and oversaw the successful reaccreditation of the institution’s six professional schools with special commendation from executive leadership. Dr. Boutwell has journalism and biology degrees from The University of Texas at Austin and a Master of Public Health and Doctor of Public Health degree from The University of Texas School of Public Health in Houston. Prior to joining the UT’s medical school in Houston in 1993, he worked at The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center for 15 years where he served communication roles and as a faculty member leading NIH-funded cancer prevention grants while serving as Assistant Vice President for Academic Affairs. During his Texas Medical Center career he also handled media relations for Dr. Denton Cooley’s historic heart transplants (1980-1982) and served as director of public relations for the entire Texas Medical Center (1983-1985). In 2014 he published the biography of John P. McGovern, M.D., his friend and mentor. His latest book is ‘Bout Time: 4-Minute Histories of the Texas Medical Center and UTHealth is compiled from his blog entitled, ‘Bout Time that can be seen online: https://www.uth.edu/blog/bout-time/