ISMA is mourning the loss of Past President George Rawls, MD, of Indianapolis, who died May 16. A pioneer for African American surgeons in Indianapolis and a champion for minority students in medicine, he was 91.

Dr. Rawls joined ISMA in 1960 and was elected ISMA president in 1990. He also served as president of the Marion County Medical Society and the Aesculapian Medical Society and was a past president of the Indiana Medical Licensing Board. In addition, Dr. Rawls was clinical professor emeritus of surgery and assistant dean of student affairs at IU School of Medicine (IUSM) in Indianapolis for five years and founded the school’s Master of Science in Medical Science program. His legacy lives on in the many scholarship programs and educational initiatives that he and his wife, Lula, established, and that were established in his honor.

IUSM noted Dr. Rawls’ death with an article detailing his many academic and other accomplishments; read it here.

Dr. Rawls was also a U.S. Army veteran and authored memoirs, historical works and children’s books. Read his official obituary >>