William T. Griffin, MD

One of the most respected clinicians and educators to ever serve the MU School of Medicine is the recipient of our highest honor, the 48th Citation of Merit Award.

A highly decorated graduate of MU's medical school Class of 1959, Dr. Griffin has served the University as a leader in obstetrics and gyneclogy for more than 40 years. He has also dedicated his medical skills to the service of his country and to international humanitarian causes.

Born in Audrain County, Dr. Griffin received his undergraduate degree from MU and completed a four-year residency at MU in 1963. He joined MU's obstetrics and gynecology faculty and rose to the rank of professor in 1974. Dr. Griffin became a pioneer in reproductive endocrinology at MU, serving as director of the fertility program from its inception in 1977 until 1989. In 1999, MU honored Dr. Griffin's service to the program by establishing a professorship in his name.

Dr. Griffin "retired" in 1992 but continues to care for patients and teach part time as a professor emeritus in MU's School of Medicine. Dr. David Hall, chair of the Obstetrics and Gynecology Department from 1962 to 1987, said that Dr. Griffin's popularity with medical students and residents is evidenced by the number of them who contact him and seek his advice long after they have graduated. Dr. Griffin honored his mentor and friend in 1987 when he helped establish the David G. Hall professorship in obstetrics and gynecology through the sale of a 1937 Rolls-Royce he donated to the University.

Along with his service to MU, Dr. Griffin has performed commendable service to the U.S. Army Medical Corps. He served with the U.S. Army Artillery in Korea from 1952 to 1954. His military awards include the Legion of Merit, Army Commendation Medal and the Army Achievement Medal, the National Defense Medal with Bronze Star, the Korean Service Medal with two Bronze Stars, and the Order of Military Medical Merit Award. He was called back to active duty for Desert Storm from December 1990 to June 1991 and served as chief of surgery and chief of obstetrics and gynecology at Fort Leonard Wood's community hospital.

Dr. Griffin was elected to the Alpha Omega Alpha Honors Society while in medical school. Since 1967, he has been a fellow in the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, which honored him with a Teacher of the Year Award in 2004. He has been selected twice by his peers to be included in the "Best Doctors in America." He also has received three national teaching awards from the Association of Professors of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and he received teacher of the year awards in 1997 and 1998 from the Council on Resident Education in Obstetrics and Gynecology.

He is a recipient of the Jane Hickman Teaching Award from MU's School of Medicine, and in January Dr. Griffin was honored with the Boone County Medical Society's Doctor of the Year Award for 2004. He has been a member of the Medical Alumni Organization's board of governors since 1980.

Dr. Griffin has also been involved in Project HOPE, which implements health education programs, conducts health policy research and provides humanitarian assistance around the world. On two occasions in the late 1990s, he served as a consultant to the Ministry of Health in the Republic of Georgia to help reduce infant and mother mortality rates.

Patients, alumni and MU have benefited greatly from Dr. Griffin's tireless efforts to improve health care. For this reason, the MU Medical Alumni Organization and the School of Medicine are proud to present him with their highest honor, the Citation of Merit Award.