William Arend Receives American College of Rheumatology Presidential Gold Medal
ATLANTA – William P. Arend, MD; distinguished professor emeritus at the division of rheumatology, department of medicine, at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, received the Presidential Gold Medal from the American College of Rheumatology during the ACR Annual Scientific Meeting, November 6 – 11 in Atlanta.
The highest award that the ACR can bestow, the Presidential Gold Medal is awarded in recognition of outstanding achievements in rheumatology over an entire career. Candidates for the award have made important contributions in multiple areas such as clinical medicine, research, education or administration.
Dr. Arend was born in Utica, New York, and is a graduate of Williams College, Williamstown, Massachusetts, and Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons, New York City. He completed an internship and residency in internal medicine and a fellowship in rheumatology at the University of Washington School of Medicine. He served a sabbatical as a visiting scientist at Strangeways Research Laboratory and visiting scholar at Corpus Christi College, University of Cambridge, England, where he was supported by a fellowship from the Guggenheim Foundation. Dr. Arend was also a member of the faculty at the University of Washington School of Medicine for 10 years. He has been a professor of medicine and immunology at the University of Colorado School of Medicine for 27 years where he was head of the division of rheumatology and director of the training program and also raised funds for three endowed chairs. Recently, he was designated distinguished professor by the board of regents of the University of Colorado in 2009.
Dr. Arend has served a variety of roles within the ACR, including participating as a member on the Subcommittee on the Classification of Vasculitis, the Program Committee and the Executive Council of the Directors of Rheumatology Training Programs. He also led the Manpower and Training Committee as the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Fellowship Training Programs. Dr. Arend served on the ACR board of directors from 1991 through 1994 where he was a member of the Finance Group and the Industrial Relations Committee. He was editor of Arthritis & Rheumatism from 1995 through 2000. Dr. Arend was elected a Master of the ACR in 2002 and gave the Klemperer Memorial Lecture in 2003. He gave an invited plenary lecture at the 2008 ACR annual meeting and the keynote address at the 2010 ACR Rheumatology Research Workshop.
The American College of Rheumatology is an international professional medical society that represents more than 8,000 rheumatologists and rheumatology health professionals around the world. Its mission is to advance rheumatology. The ACR/ARHP Annual Scientific Meeting is the premier meeting in rheumatology. For more information about the meeting, visit www.rheumatology.org/education. Follow the meeting on twitter by using the official hashtag: #ACR2010.
