2015 Dean’s Awards honoree: Henry D. Appelman, M.D.
Since joining the U-M faculty in 1969, he has enjoyed a distinguished career as an educator who has impacted multiple learner groups
As a 1961 graduate of the University of Michigan Medical School, and former resident in pathology, Henry D. Appelman, M.D., knows very well the place the University of Michigan holds in the history of pathology. He also acknowledges the responsibility of his own role that he has carved out during a nearly 50-year career on the faculty here.
“As a resident in pathology here and as a faculty member, the importance of teaching with enthusiasm and intensity for medical students, residents, and faculty in other departments was an integral part of our daily activities, and a heavy teaching load was the norm for all the pathology faculty,” he recalls.
After completing his pathology residency at the U-M in 1996, Appelman spent two years in the U.S. Army before joining the faculty of the Hahnemann Medical College in Philadelphia. In his first year, he received a call from Jim French, chair of pathology at Michigan, who was interested in bringing him back to Ann Arbor. “This was my dream job in my dream department, so I jumped at the opportunity to come back,” he recalls.
Since joining the U-M faculty in 1969 as an assistant professor of pathology, Appelman has enjoyed a distinguished career as an educator who has impacted multiple learner groups, including medical students, residents, fellows, and his peers. He has been honored as two-time recipient of the Pathology house officers’ annual teaching award, and in 2013 he was inducted into The League of Educational Excellence.
Appelman received the 2015 Lifetime Achievement Award in Medical Education on Nov. 4 at the annual Faculty and Staff Awards Dinner: