honorary member of the College of Medicine Alumni Council
Dr. Jack Wilson was born and raised in North Mississippi. He attended the University of Southern Mississippi where he earned a BS degree in Biology in 1964. After college, he entered graduate school at The University of Mississippi Medical School in Jackson, MS where he earned a Ph.D. in the Anatomical Sciences in 1968. After completing the Ph.D. program, he accepted the position in the Anatomy Department at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis, TN in 1968. Dr. Wilson was promoted to Professor of Anatomy and Neurobiology in 1990 and was awarded the Distinguished Alumni Professor of Anatomy title in 2000. He served UT Health Science Center teaching various Anatomy courses in the department and retired in 2015 after 47 years at UT.
Dr. Wilson’s greatest contribution to UT Health Science Center was his commitment to teaching. His primary teaching role was in Gross Anatomy and Developmental Anatomy and was course director for Gross Anatomy for 27 years. One of the highlights of his life was having the privilege of teaching medical students at UT, having taught every medical student that came to UT for all those years. He has so many wonderful memories of the interactions with the students. Upon retiring, he had taught over 14,000 medical students and enjoyed every one of them. At retirement, he received numerous letters from students expressing their appreciation. His goal in teaching was to present a strong clinical anatomy program, and as course director, required a strong foundation of Anatomy in Medicine from the students, but did it with compassion. Often over the years, I listened and talked to a number of students, keeping them from dropping out of school in their first year because of grades or many other reasons. I knew they could do it. Most of them at a later time let me know how appreciative they were of my encouragement for saving their careers.
The students showed their wonderful appreciation for his teaching, having awarded him about 70 teaching awards over the years, the most of any faculty at UT Health Science Center. The awards included many Golden Apples, many Best M-1 course director awards, and very honored were the 14 Best Preclinical faculty awards from the senior class from the first two years of medical school until the award was discontinued. Dr. Wilson has served on many UT committees including 9 years on the admission committee and several curricular planning committees.
Dr. Wilson has been married to his wife Rosemarie for 59 years. They have three children, eight grandchildren, and 11 great grandchildren. He lives in Southaven, MS where he enjoys all of those kids.
View Past Medicine Award Winners