(December 11, 2008) - For his outstanding work, influence and contributions to medical education, professor Henry W. Strobel has earned the Distinguished Medical Educator Award from TIAA-CREF, a national financial services group. He will receive his award Dec. 9.

Strobel, a resident of the Braes Heights area, is the first doctorate holder to receive the award.

A professor of biochemistry and molecular biology, he is associate dean for faculty affairs at The University of Texas Medical School at Houston. He is that institution’s third faculty member to earn the TIAA-CREF recognition.

Strobel is also known as Father Strobel when serving as assisting priest at Palmer Memorial Episcopal Church. His involvement with the church and his love for it guides who he is as both an educator and a person.

The annual award, founded by TIAA-CREF and supported by the John P. McGovern Museum of Health and Medical Science (also known as The Health Museum), carries a $10,000 honorarium for the recipient and 20 scholarships to The Health Museum’s medical camp for children donated in the recipient’s name.

Strobel “embodies TIAA-CREF’s mission of serving those who serve the greater good,” said Tameeka Aviles, Institutional Business Development director at TIAA-CREF.

Strobel joined the faculty of the UT Medical School at Houston in 1972 shortly after the school opened.

For 36 years, Strobel has excelled as a teacher of biochemistry and molecular biology. He has sponsored international electives through the medical school in universities around the world and has had lasting effects on his students.

“Dr. Strobel is a multi-faceted educator who has trained many knowledgeable and caring doctors,” said L. Maximilian Buja, executive vice president for academic affairs and Distinguished Teaching Professor at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. “He is an excellent classroom teacher. He is innovative and focused on the development of the student as a whole person.”

A favorite among students, Strobel is known for the enthusiasm and talent he brings to his educational activities. He’s the frequent recipient of the Dean’s Teaching Excellence Awards.

More than 25 years ago, Strobel founded the Medical Professionalism Orientation Retreat (known as the Henry Strobel Student Retreat).

The program welcomes first-year medical students and builds collegial relationships with all medical students and faculty to help new students through the medical school years. The program’s success was recognized by the Alumni Association at the 2007 commencement ceremony with a financial endowment in Strobel’s name.

Understanding the value in broadening a student’s education, Strobel initiated international electives, including rotations at medical facilities in Malaysia, India, Thailand, Chile, Vietnam and China.

Award Recipients
Also earning the TIAA-CREF Distinguished Medical Educator Award from the UT Medical School at Houston were:

Frank C. Arnett, Jr., M.D., professor of internal medicine and the Elizabeth Bidgood Chair in Rheumatology

Herbert Fred, M.D., professor of internal medicine