Rohrich Receives UND Honorary Degree

Rod J. Rohrich, M.D., (B.S. Med. ’77), Dallas, TX, received UND’s honorary Doctor of Letters degree at the general

commencement ceremony on May 13, 2006.

An internationally recognized educator and physician, Rohrich is professor and chair of plastic surgery, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas. He holds the Crystal Charity Ball Distinguished Chair in Plastic Surgery and the Betty and Warren Woodward Chair in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.

A native of Zeeland, ND, Rohrich graduated from NDSU and then enrolled at the UND School of Medicine, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Medicine degree. He earned his M.D. from Baylor University College of Medicine. After general surgery and plastic surgery residencies at the University of Michigan Medical Center, he did further training in pediatric plastic surgery at Oxford University in England. He completed a hand and microvascular fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School and, in 1986, joined the Division of Plastic Surgery at UT Southwestern.

Rohrich has been the recipient of numerous prestigious national research, teaching, and service awards. An innovative educator and scientist, he holds a patent on a new breast implant and has developed educational models for bringing emerging technology to plastic surgeons. He is editor in chief of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, the leading journal in the field. He has also served as president of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, the largest organization of Board certified plastic surgeons in the world.

Rohrich has been a visiting professor internationally and has delivered more than 1,000 scientific presentations on all aspects of plastic surgery. He has published four textbooks, more than 300 peer review articles, and 30 chapters on plastic surgery. His research interests span the entire field.

Rohrich has been included as one of The Best Doctors in America since 1996. He has been honored by both the UND and NDSU alumni associations, and as a Notable North Dakotan in 1998. In addition to his many professional activities, he is involved in civic affairs, including the American Cancer Society, the Save the Children Foundation, and arts and music organizations in Dallas.

Through his foundation, for which he serves as president, Rohrich established an endowment that provides a scholarship to a UND medical student with a rural North Dakota background and an interest in primary care.

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