forland

Marvin Forland, M.D., MACP

Professor Emeritus

Personal Statement:

Marvin Forland is a native of northern New Jersey.  His introduction to San Antonio was two years as assistant chief of the Renal Branch of the Army’s Surgical Research Unit at Brooke Army Medical Center. Following military service he spent four years as an assistant professor in the department of medicine at the University of Chicago School of Medicine. He accepted an invitation to participate in the development of the newly opening University of Texas Medical School at San Antonio in the fall of 1968, influenced by the major medical needs he had observed earlier in San Antonio and UT’s outstanding support of the Medical Branch and Southwestern Medical School.

Initially chief of the division of renal diseases in the department of medicine, Dr. Forland helped initiate the new curriculum and the hemodialysis, renal biopsy and renal transplantation programs at the developing school and its affiliated hospitals. He authored or co-authored over 80 papers and book chapters, primarily in the area of renal diseases, and edited the Concise Textbook of Nephrology. In 1975 he became deputy chairman for clinical activities and residency program director in the department of medicine. In 1982 he was appointed associate dean for clinical affairs of the School of Medicine. He was elected to the Executive Council of the Association of Program Directors in Internal Medicine in 1985 and served as president in 1989-1990. During his presidency the Association of Clerkship Directors in Internal Medicine was launched and the “Action Agenda” to promote student interest in careers in Internal Medicine was formulated.

Dr. Forland’s wife, Ellinor, is a social worker; she founded Child Advocates San Antonio (CASA) 18 years ago and recently retired as its director. Their son, Aaron, is engaged in music related activities in San Antonio, and their daughter, Emily, is a poet and graphic design student, employed in the field of publishing in New York City.


Education

He received his bachelor's degree Magna cum Laude from Colgate University in 1954 and medical degree from Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons where he was the Theodore Vosseler Scholar. He completed his internal medicine and nephrology training at the University of Chicago Affiliated Hospitals.

Awards & Accomplishments

A member of Phi Beta Kappa and Alpha Omega Alpha, Dr. Forland was a first recipient of the Kathryn Dial Murray Gift of Life Award from the Kidney Foundation of South Texas in 1994 for his contributions in the field of nephrology.

Other organizational memberships have included the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons Regional Representative program since its inception in 1981, the Central Society for Clinical Research and the Southern Society for Clinical Investigation. He became an honorary member of the Texas Club of Internists in 1994.

In the community, Dr. Forland has served on the boards of the San Antonio Chamber Music Society and Hospice San Antonio. He is currently president of the San Antonio Area Foundation (San Antonio’s community trust), a board member of the University Health System Development Foundation, and secretary of the Golden Manor Jewish Home for the Aged. In 1999-2000 he chaired the Jewish Federation of San Antonio’s “Task Force on Aging.”

A Fellow of the American College of Physicians (ACP-ASIM) since 1969, he joined the Texas Academy Chapter Council in 1983. His particular interests have been in the educational and outreach missions of the College. Within Texas he has served as scientific program chair for two Annual Meetings and co-directed three MKSAP Review Courses.

He introduced the Chief Residents’ Council and Breakfast to the annual statewide sessions and led the development of the statewide network of Associates’ Meetings, which now number four regional gatherings annually. Nationally, Dr. Forland served as Governor for South Texas from 1991-1995 and chaired the ACP Associates Committee as well as the ad hoc Medical Student Activities Review Task Force, which helped further develop that new membership category.

He was a member of the initial National Internal Medicine In-Training Examination Committee in 1986 – 1990, which structured the first national in-training examinations for residents in internal medicine. He was a member of the Federated Council for Internal Medicine in 1988 – 1991. In 1998, Dr, Forland received the Laureate Award of the Texas Academy Chapter of the ACP-ASIM. In 1999 he received the Healthcare Foundation of New Jersey Humanism in Medicine Award and Medical School Alumni Association Distinguished Faculty Award. He was awarded Mastership in the ACP-ASIM in 2000.

Dr. Forland was named Professor Emeritus of Medicine upon retirement from UT Health San Antonio in April, 1999. A medical student scholarship in his honor was established by the UT Health San Antonio Medical Alumni Association that year, and a “Marvin Forland, M.D., Distinguished Professorship in Medical Humanities and Ethics” endowed by a former patient. The Forland Professorship was filled in July, 2002 by Dr. Abraham Verghese, infectious disease specialist, teacher and writer, who was the founding director of The Center for Medical Humanities & Ethics.