Nov. 11, 2009

Andy Ortegon, Texas Media Relations

The University of Texas is often a stepping stone for men and women alike, who seek to change the world and make it a better place.

Dr. Jim Willerson was one of those students, and when he is officially inducted into the Men's Athletics Hall of Honor later this month, The University will have an opportunity to acknowledge a man who graduated from Texas and is changing the world in a very significant way.

A native of San Antonio, Willerson came to UT on a full swimming scholarship. He graduated in 1961, after majoring in Pre-Med, with a 3.8 grade point average. Willerson graduated Phi Beta Kappa, and received the UT Academic Award as the student-athlete with the highest grade point average.

"I came to swim, and hoped to do well enough to go to medical school," Willerson said.

For Willerson, school and swimming were life, and even though the combination of the two was grueling, he felt those were the things he was called to do.

"Swimming was rigorous. We often swam twice a day, at 4:30 in the morning and 1:30 in the afternoon," Willerson recalled.

Willerson's senior year, Texas finished second in the Southwest Conference Championship to SMU.

"I raced in the 400-yard freestyle relay,which we won," Willerson said. "And I took second yet again in the 440 and the 1500 to an Olympian from South Africa, on SMU's team -- who I'd like to race again right now."

It proved to be Willerson's fastest meet, and the memories have lasted his lifetime.

"I remember that I had shaved my body for the first time. It was just coming into vogue for swimmers so I tried it," he said. "This was the last time I would swim in college, but it was an exciting day. It was the greatest meet I'd ever had. And I'll never forget it."

But though it was the end of Willerson's swimming career, it was merely just the beginning for Willerson.

Willerson was then accepted to Baylor Medical School, which was the leading medical school in the state at the time. Willerson did well enough to earn himself one of six nationally-coveted internships and residency at the prestigious Harvard Medical School at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.

"There were 14 interns in the program. Eight of them were from Harvard, which left six spots available nationally. As you can guess the competition for that was pretty tough," Willerson explained. "I was fortunate enough to be one of the six. I spent six years there, and I really enjoyed it. I was privileged enough to work with some of the most outstanding physicians and physician scientists in the world."

Willerson then extended his schooling for two more years to train in cardiology. He was then offered a job as the head of the Cardio Care Unit at UT Southwestern Medical Hospital in Dallas.

"I came back to Southwestern to help their program in the battle against heart disease," Willerson said. "And within four years I was a professor there and helped them build their cardiology program. I remained there for 18 years and enjoyed that experience very much."

Then in 1989 he was named professor and chairman at the newly created UT Medical School in Houston.

"It was coming home for me because I had gone to school at the Baylor College of Medicine," Willerson said. "So I told them I had done all I could at Southwestern, and I wanted to see if I could come help make UT Houston better than it was."

Willerson spent the next 11 years as the chairman of medicine at Houston, recruiting and raising money. In 2000 he was asked to be the president of the University of Texas Health and Science Center of Houston.

"It was the largest component of the health science centers in Texas. And I would be overseeing the medical school, the dental school, the school of public health and the graduate school," Willerson said. "I accepted and in 2001 I was named the permanent president of the Health Science Center of Houston."

In 2004, Willerson was chosen to become president-elect of the Texas Heart Institute. He became the full-time president in 2008.

Today, the Texas Heart Institute is currently ranked No. 5 in the nation among peer institutions. Willerson teaches, has treated some 3,000 patients and is currently working on using adult stem cells to treat people with heart failure.

"I get to be a doctor, an educator and a builder here," Willerson said. "There is nothing quite like it."

Throughout his esteemed career, Willerson has been elected into the National Academy of Science, the Institute of Distinguished Scientists of the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology -- the top heart associations in the US. He is an honorary member in more than eight foreign cardiology societies, and Willerson has won the American Heart Association Gold Heart award, the highest honor bestowed by the association.

Willerson remains humble and grateful for the opportunities he was provided along the way.

"I'm terribly grateful to The University of Texas at Austin for the opportunity to go there on a swimming scholarship and compete," Willerson said. "I learned a lot about myself and discipline, and I was associated with some great people. I got an education second to none, in my opinion. It allowed me to move ahead, be the doctor I wanted to be and to go to places to train, and help people in my future."

Even though he has many other accolades, Willerson is profoundly grateful for his Hall of Honor induction.

"This recognition from UT is humbling," he said. "I think it is not terribly deserved but greatly appreciated. It is a result of having outstanding teammates on my swimming team, and encouragement of the training staff we had at Texas."

And to all student-athletes, present and future, Willerson leaves this advice.

"You can do it. It's a wonderful opportunity," Willerson said. "There is no better place in the world to gain an education or to compete than UT Austin. Be tough be optimistic, be focused, and achieve -- if not for yourself, then for your team and for the benefit of this great university, The University of Texas."