TCU and UNTHSC medical school names first endowed chair

Terence McCarthy

Dr. John M. Geesbreght and his wife Priscilla have established the first endowed chair at the TCU and UNTHSC School of Medicine.

Terence McCarthy, M.D., the academic chair for emergency medicine at the School of Medicine, was named the inaugural recipient of the John M. Geesbreght M.D., M.S., FACEP, Chair of Emergency Medicine.

Geesbreght is the former director of emergency medicine at Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital in Fort Worth.

“It’s a huge honor to hold a chair that’s named after him,” McCarthy said. “He’s an incredible leader and really inspirational.”

- FWBP Digital Partners -

Endowed faculty positions are among the most prestigious and impactful types of investments a donor can make and are one of the most revered traditions of higher education, the medical school said in the announcement.

“Dr. Geesbreght is known as a visionary and a gifted operational thinker in emergency medicine. To have him endow our first academic chair is a great honor for our school as we strive to forge a new forward-thinking way of educating medical students,” said Stuart D. Flynn, M.D., founding dean of the Fort Worth M.D. school.

“Dr. McCarthy truly honors the spirit of this gift and will be a valued leader and role model as our school continues into the future,” Flynn said.

McCarthy is a graduate of the School of Medicine at University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston. He was an associate professor of surgery in the division of emergency medicine at UTMB Galveston, and currently serves as a clinical adjunct professor for the Physician Assistant Studies program at the University of North Texas Health Science Center.

- Advertisement -

“He’s a natural emergency doctor and he’s been through it all. He’s a teacher and it just flows through his veins and shows through his level of understanding,” Geesbreght said. “To be an emergency guy, you have to be able to see things and fix things, but more importantly you have to be an advocate of the patient first. That’s what he is.”

Geesbreght received his medical degree from Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine and has been in practice for more than 45 years at Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Fort Worth.

McCarthy is the director of emergency medicine for Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Fort Worth and worked alongside Geesbreght at the hospital for the last 20 years.

“In many ways I look at him more like a father figure as far as medicine goes, but he is also a real friend to me,” McCarthy said. “In my toughest and most traumatic moments in life he’s been there for me.”

- Advertisement -

The TCU and UNTHSC School of Medicine is set to open with a class of 60 students in July.

TCU and UNTHSC joined together in July 2015 to form the new allopathic medical school.

¬– FWBP Staff