ANNUAL LECTURESHIPS

Isidore Cohn, Jr - James D. Rives Annual Visiting Professorship in Surgery

Established to promote the advancement of knowledge, practice and teaching of surgery.

The Cohn-Rives Society, as its members refer to it, is the official alumni organization of the New Orleans LSU Department of Surgery and was established in 1964 to honor James Davidson Rives who presided as Head of the Department of Surgery from 1947-1962. In addition to paying tribute to Dr. Rives, the organization established a Visiting Professorship in the Department of Surgery in his name.  This annual lectureship, the first one established at LSU, is held each spring in New Orleans.

This is how Dr. Cohn describes the pirpose and objectives of the Lectureship Series: "There were several distinct objectives in the selection of Visiting professors. When the Rives Society started, almost all medical students were residents of Louisiana (still largely true), and many may never have been outside the state. They had rarely had any contact with teachers other than the LSU faculty. To a lesser extent most of this was also true for residents. Providing a contact with a name they had seen in textbooks or in journal articles provided an extra spark to their education, even if the views expressed were at odds with local thoughts. Seeing our facilities and the endless clinical opportunities at Charity Hospital gave visitors a new appreciation of LSU, even though they had been familiar with stories and journal reports of Charity experiences. Hearing the caliber of student and resident presentations gave the guest something to remember about LSU and to spread around the country. As a very substantial benefit to us, it provided access for our residents to find additional training in specific fields not covered here. In time, exposure to outside surgical thoughts was widened to include individuals who were here for major meetings and would come to the school for a lecture or student class. As more meetings came to New Orleans, these opportunities were extended.

The importance of the impression the guest would take away from LSU was stressed to students and residents throughout the year, not just in the interval immediately preceding the visit. This built up interest and anticipation well in advance of the visit; and assured optimum attendance at all sessions and superior presentations by all. As time went on it also gave returning former residents an opportunity to compare the performance of the current group with their own of previous years."

For more information, please, visit the Cohn-Rivers Surgical Society Website:

 

Irving & Mrs. Lillian Levin Annual Lectureship Series in Colon & Rectal Surgery

In 2016 LSU Department of Surgery and the Section of Colon and Rectal Surgery established the Dr. Irving & Mrs. Lillian Levin Lectureship Series in honor of Dr. Irving & Mrs. Lillian Levin. Dr. Levin was a colon and rectal surgeon and Professor of Surgery in our department.  His father, Dr. Abraham Louis Levin, the inventor of the “Levin Tube” in 1921, was a member of the staff of the Charity Hospital through the LSU School of Medicine.  Dr. Irving Levin, a graduate of Louisiana State University and Louisiana State University Medical School, was a general surgery resident at Charity Hospital and Touro Infirmary in New Orleans  and developed his reputation as a specialist in Colon and Rectal Surgery in New Orleans.

Part of Dr. Irving & Mrs. Lillian Levin's legacy is that two of their sons, Alan and Louis, also attended the LSU School of Medicine. Dr. Levin and his sons were faculty members of the LSU Department of Surgery and the School of Medicine.  Dr. Irving Levin had a lifelong interest in teaching students, residents and nurses.  It is with this lifelong interest in mind that the LSU Department of Surgery and the LSU School of Medicine established the Dr. Irving & Mrs. Lillian Levin Lectureship Series in Colon & Rectal Surgery.

Each year during March, which is Colon Cancer Awareness Month, a national expert in the field of Colon & Rectal Surgery visits LSUHSC to give a lecture to the faculty, residents and medical students on recent developments in the specialty of Colon and Rectal Surgery. The visiting Professor presents a lecture at the Department of Surgery's Grand Rounds, they attend the Morbidity and Mortality Conference, and then will meet with the surgery residents who will present interesting patients with complex colon and rectal diseases.

The new LSU Affiliated University Medical Center will be the site of the Levin Lectureship.  The brand new state-of-the-art hospital features classrooms and conference centers.  This is a perfect spot to host the new Levin Lectureship while showcasing the new hospital and the new era of healthcare for the region.