Christian Messa

UTMB alumnus pledges $100,000 to scholarships for medical students

Dr. William B. Roman Jr., former Texas state legislator, established university’s first presidential scholarship

GALVESTON, Texas — A University of Texas Medical Branch alumnus and former state legislator has pledged $100,000 to create two scholarships that recognize outstanding students in the university’s School of Medicine.

The commitment by Dr. William B. Roman Jr. and his wife, Jeannette, will establish two additional Jeannette H. and William B. Roman Jr. Presidential Scholarships, building upon the Fayetteville, Ark., couple’s contribution in 1999 that created the university’s first presidential scholarship. Endowed at $50,000 each, presidential scholarships are among the university’s most prestigious student awards. Six medical students have benefited from the Roman Scholarship since its inception. Such financial support is vital for those who might otherwise be financially discouraged from attending medical school — the average educational debt for graduating UTMB medical students was nearly $80,000 in 2003.

By reducing medical students’ debt, the Roman Scholarship and others like it can improve health care in medically underserved communities. Hospitals and clinics in such areas cannot offer as many lucrative positions as wealthier regions can, so they must typically recruit young physicians who lack significant debt and who therefore may be less influenced by financial considerations when making career decisions.

Dr. Stanley M. Lemon, dean of UTMB’s School of Medicine, said the Romans’ additional scholarships will allow the school to reward even more deserving students. “We’re extremely honored that Dr. and Mrs. Roman have decided to establish two more scholarships for our medical students,” Lemon said. “Our community and state rely on UTMB to produce dedicated and compassionate physicians, and contributors to the Presidential Scholars Program are helping to make that possible.”

Roman has close ties to UTMB. His father graduated from the university’s School of Pharmacy in 1911, a few years before the UT System relocated it to Austin. Roman himself worked as a pharmacist prior to starting his medical career.

A 1954 graduate of UTMB’s School of Medicine, Roman is one of five recipients of this year’s Ashbel Smith Distinguished Alumnus Award. The highest alumni honor given by the medical school, the award recognizes outstanding service to the medical profession and to humanity while honoring the memory of Dr. Ashbel Smith. A renowned figure in Texas medicine, politics and education, Smith was considered the inspiration behind establishing the University of Texas at Austin in 1881, and a medical department that would eventually be known as UTMB in Galveston in 1891.

Like Smith, Roman’s professional career encompassed the realms of medicine, education and politics. The board-certified obstetrician and gynecologist served from 1997 to 1999 as a state representative in the Texas Legislature and practiced medicine in the Bryan-College Station area for nearly 40 years — delivering more than 3,000 babies before retiring. Roman served as an associate professor in the Health and Physical Education Department at Texas A&M University and was later appointed clinical associate professor in the university’s School of Medicine. After retiring from private practice, he participated in a “substitute physician” program in which he temporarily cared for rural Connecticut and Kentucky residents until more permanent doctors were found.

Roman served as chief of staff and head of obstetrics and gynecology at St. Joseph Regional Health Center in Bryan and as president of the Brazos-Robertson County Medical Society. He was a founding board member of the Mental Health Mental Retardation Authority of the Brazos Valley and co-founded the Villa Maria Medical Complex in Bryan.

Roman continues to remain involved with UTMB. He joined the Development Board, whose members help create fund-raising strategies and act as the academic health center’s “ambassadors,” assisting in outreach efforts to alumni, patients and other supporters. The World War II U.S. Navy veteran is also a member of the Heritage Council, an honorary society composed of individuals who remember UTMB in their long-range financial plans, and the Chancellor’s Council, a similar group for UT System supporters.

Roman is a fellow of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, Texas Association of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and Texas Medical Association. He has served on the boards of several private corporations and worked with various charitable organizations.

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