On January 27, 2017, we lost a dedicated and respected member of the UT Health San Antonio’s family. Robert Leonard Leon, M.D. died peacefully on Friday, January 27th at the age of 92 surrounded by his family. He was born in Colorado on January 18th, 1925 as a son of immigrants from England and Romania. As a student, he excelled in his studies and was the editor of his high school newspaper, contributing stories and photographs, which began a lifelong vocation in writing and photography. He attempted to enlist in the military at the age of 17 to fight in World War II, but the recruitment officer encouraged him to continue his studies to better serve his country as a physician. He was an outstanding student at The University of Colorado at Boulder, and enrolled in medical school after two years of undergraduate work, earning his M.D. at an early age.
Dr. Leon trained as a psychiatrist and enlisted in the Public Health Service, achieving the rank of Senior Surgeon, where he was dedicated to serving the poor and marginalized, especially Native American families. He then entered academia; publishing numerous articles, books, and anthologies. Dr. Leon was on the faculty at the department of psychiatry at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas for ten years before moving on to his proudest achievement, serving as the founding chairman of the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. He built the department into a powerhouse of dozens of researchers and clinical faculty, and he trained hundreds of psychiatrists and medical students for thirty years. He was loved by all his colleagues, students and patients, and was named President of the American College of Psychiatry and Ashbel Smith Professor of Psychiatry, among many other honors.
Founding Faculty Interview - https://archive.org/details/UTHSC014
Join us in honoring Dr. Leon through a gift to the Robert L. Leon, M.D. Memorial Endowment in Psychiatry. We thank you in advance for your gift or pledge to help our fund grow and keep his memory close to our hearts.
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Philip Garza, Senior Director of Development, at (210) 567-2598.