2008 Alumnus of the Year gives his best to dying patients

For those who graduate with multiple degrees, there are certain academic strengths, some personal motivation and a conviction that there must be a field where those qualities unite.  Bob Arnold, who graduated from UMKC in 1983 with degrees in philosophy, biological sciences and medicine, decided to use his collective education caring for patients beyond recovery. 

Arnold, UMKC’s 2008 Alumnus of the Year, is a bioethicist who considers the emotional as well as the physical needs of the dying.  He is a physician who has had an enormous impact on treatment and care at life’s end – helping patients and families make choices about continuing care or organ donation. As one colleague says, “He gets it.” 

Wearing many hats is nothing new for Arnold. Currently, he is a professor of medicine; chief of palliative care and medical ethics; and assistant director for education in the Center for Bioethics and Health Law at the University of Pittsburgh, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  In recognition of his work, Arnold was chosen by the College of Arts and Sciences as their Alumnus of the Year in 1998; moreover, the College nominated Arnold for UMKC’s 2008 Alumnus of the Year.  In addition to these honors, Arnold received the noted “Take Wing” award from the School of Medicine in 2003. 

For more information about the April 17 awards dinner, call 816-235-1563 or register online at http://advancing.umkc.edu/events