NEW ORLEANS—Augustus A. White III, MD, Ph.D., of Boston, was honored with the fifth annual William W. Tipton Jr., MD, Leadership Award for his work as an educator, a mentor and a champion of diversity initiatives. The award, which includes a $5,000 honorarium, was presented today to Dr. White at the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) Annual Meeting in New Orleans.

“I am surprised, humbled and inspired to be receiving this award,” said Dr. White. “I feel particularly honored to be recognized among so many individuals I admire.”

Established by friends, colleagues, and organizations through AAOS and the Orthopaedic Research and Education Foundation (OREF), the Tipton Award honors the qualities exemplified by the late Dr. Tipton, including leadership, commitment to mentorship, diversity, bridge-building and collaboration.

Dr. White currently is the Ellen and Melvin Gordon Distinguished Professor of Medical Education, Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery, at Harvard Medical School. He also has served as a mentor to Harvard medical students as a former master of the Oliver Wendell Holmes Society, an organization committed to the promotion and support of the academic and professional development of Harvard’s medical students through a system of academic advising and a series of enrichment programs.

“I’ve been very fortunate to have some world-class mentors, starting with my parents, then on to my professors and my peers,” said Dr. White. “I firmly believe that giving students the opportunity to find a mentor also gives them a greater opportunity to be successful.”

In addition to his mentoring work, Dr. White dedicates much of his life to diversity-related issues. He is a founding member and founding president of the J. Robert Gladden Orthopaedic Society, a multicultural organization dedicated to advancing excellent musculoskeletal care for all patients, with particular attention to underserved groups. Dr. White also served as the inaugural chairman of the AAOS Diversity Committee.

After being the first African-American to graduate from Stanford University School of Medicine and the first African-American orthopaedic resident at Yale Medical Center, Dr. White served in the U.S. Army Medical Corps in Vietnam and received a Bronze Star Medal. He then earned his Ph.D. in research on biomechanics of the spine at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden.

Throughout his career, Dr. White received numerous honors, including the AAOS Diversity Award; the American Orthopaedic Association Distinguished Clinician Educator Award; the U.S. Jaycees “Ten Outstanding Young Men” Award; the Martin Luther King Jr., Medical Achievement Award; and the Kappa Delta/Orthopaedic Research and Education Foundation Research Award.

Additionally, Dr. White has authored or coauthored more than 225 scientific and clinical publications, including chapters, books and articles.

Prior recipients of the William W. Tipton Jr., MD, Leadership Award are Blair C. Filler, MD (2009), Michael F. Schafer, MD (2008), Stuart A. Hirsch, MD (2007), and Richard J. Haynes, MD (2006).

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