2017 Outstanding Alumnus Award Winner
As a student nearing graduation at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Medicine (COM) in 1973, Dr. Robert J. Kaplan was inducted into the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society.
This prestigious society makes selections based on a combination of academic standing, leadership, professionalism and a firm sense of ethics. Only a small number of students are selected each year. Inductees to this prestigious society exhibit a commitment to service in the school and community. Dr. Kaplan has maintained this standard throughout his entire career.
Dr. Kaplan has set a powerful example among his peers to raise their level of participation in support of The University of Tennessee. Since his graduation from UTHSC College of Medicine, he has been a prominent spokesperson in support of the University at all its campuses and in all its activities.
Most recently, in January 2017 at the UT President’s Council Awards Dinner, Dr. Kaplan was awarded the top award for the system by UT President Dr. Joe DiPietro, the Jim and Natalie Haslam Presidential Medal. The medal is awarded to individuals who have a record of supporting the university through exemplary giving, volunteer leadership, and service. Recipients also motivate others to support the University of Tennessee and exhibit a personal history of integrity and excellence.
Dr. Kaplan’s transformational philanthropy to the University of Tennessee and the College of Medicine allowed for the creation of the Kaplan Clinical Skills and Assessment Center in 2005, where teaching, simulation, and standardized patient encounters enhance medical students’ abilities to take patient histories, perform physical exams, and communicate effectively with patients.
Dr. Kaplan’s support and vision led to the creation the Kaplan-Amonette Department of Dermatology at UTHSC in 2013, for which the University of Tennessee named him Philanthropist of the Year. In 2014, the position of dean of the UTHSC College of Medicine was named the Robert Kaplan Executive Dean in his honor. Dr. David M. Stern currently holds the position of Robert Kaplan Executive Dean.
Dr. Kaplan and his close friend and fellow Vol, Dr. Rodney Wolf, COM ’57, provided support to establish the Wolf-Kaplan Athletics Recruiting Center inside Neyland Stadium in 2002.
A native of New Jersey, Dr. Kaplan received his undergraduate education at Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania and returned to the state for his internship at Geisinger Medical Center in Danville, PA. Dr. Kaplan completed his dermatology residency at UTHSC in 1977. He practices medicine in Memphis at Kaplan Dermatology and holds multiple leadership positions at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, including serving on the UTHSC Foundation’s Board of Directors and the UTHSC College of Medicine Alumni Council.
Dr. Kaplan has been a longtime member of the Tennessee Medical Association, the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Dermatology, and the Memphis Medical Society. Dr. Kaplan is a native of Englewood, New Jersey, and he and his wife, Becky, reside in Memphis.
View Past Medicine Award Winners