Dr. Thomas Coffman to give Baylor College of Medicine commencement address

Dr. Thomas Coffman, professor and senior advisor at Duke-NUS Medical School in Singapore, will give the John E. Whitmore Lecture commencement address at Baylor College of Medicine’s commencement ceremony in May. Along with Coffman, three others will receive honorary degrees: Gloria Hicks, partner of Hicks Automative Group; Wilhelmina E. “Beth” Robertson, board chair of the Cullen Foundation; Fred Seigel, Baylor trustee and president and chief executive officer of Beacon Capital Partners; and Nancy Goodman, founder and executive director of Kids v Cancer.

“This year’s honorary degree recipients are distinguished leaders who support Baylor’s mission to advance healthcare, scientific research and education for the benefit of our community and those around the world,” said Dr. Paul Klotman, president, CEO and executive dean of the College. “We look forward to honoring their accomplishments and hearing their insight for our graduates in May.”
The commencement ceremony for the School of Medicine, the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences and the School of Health Professions Genetic Counseling Program will be held May 21 at Smart Financial Centre in Sugar Land.

Coffman was the longest serving dean at Duke-NUS Medical School in Singapore, a collaboration between Duke University and the National University of Singapore, from 2015-2025. He currently is a professor in the Duke-NUS Cardiovascular and Metabolic Disorders Signature Research Programme. An international leader in the field of nephrology, Coffman holds the James R. Clapp Professorship in Medicine at Duke University School of Medicine, where he spent 18 years as chief of the Division of Nephrology. Coffman graduated from the University of Pennsylvania and obtained his M.D. from the Ohio State University College of Medicine. He completed his residency in medicine and fellowship in nephrology at Duke and joined the faculty in 1985 to pursue his career as a clinician-scientist. He was the founding director of the Duke Cardiovascular Research Center and the Duke O’Brien Center for Kidney Research. His research interests include hypertension and diabetic nephropathy, and he currently is the principal investigator for a major study focused on understanding the pathogenesis of diabetic kidney disease.

Coffman will receive the Doctor of Letters in Medicine from Baylor. This degree is awarded to leaders who have excelled in academia through teaching, research or public service and whose acts have brought credit or advancement to Baylor or the profession of academic medicine.

Hicks is a native of Corpus Christi and graduate of Texas A&I University. She is a CPA and a partner of Hicks Automotive Group. She is committed to supporting the youth of South Texas, particularly the students at Gloria Hicks Elementary School, which was named in her honor. She serves on the MD Anderson Cancer Center Board of Visitors, and she is a board member of the Laura Bush Institute for Women’s Health as well as numerous nonprofit organizations in Corpus Christi. She leads community health projects, including regular smoking prevention programs that serve more than 7,000 students in South Texas. Through community fundraising efforts, the Baylor College of Medicine STEM education program was added to the Corpus Christi Independent School District. This initiative has given underserved students opportunities to pursue careers in medicine and science.

Robertson is president of Cockspur, Inc. and chair of the board of The Cullen Foundation. She served as the founding Chair of The Cullen Trust for Health Care from 1978 to 2013. The Cullen Foundation’s and Cullen Trust’s longstanding support for education, research and patient care has played a pivotal role in Baylor’s success, including the construction of the new Lillie and Roy Cullen Tower, named for Robertson’s grandparents. A Houston native and graduate of the University of Texas, Robertson currently serves on the board of the Museum of Fine Arts Houston and previously served on the boards of Amegy Bank of Texas, the University of Houston and the Harris County Healthcare Alliance.

Seigel is president and chief executive officer of Beacon Capital Partners, a Boston based real estate firm with a national portfolio and footprint spanning more than 38 million square feet. He serves on the Board of Directors of the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health, the Baylor College of Medicine Board of Trustees and the Board of Directors of Camp Harbor View, an organization that works with more than 1,000 young Bostonians and their families each year.

Goodman founded Kids v Cancer, a think tank/advocacy organization, after her 10-year-old son Jacob died of medulloblastoma. Kids v Cancer develops and champions laws to provide incentives and requirements for biopharmaceutical companies to develop new drugs for children. The Creating Hope Act Pediatric Priority Review Voucher Program has resulted in more than 65 new FDA-approved drugs for children with life-threatening illnesses. The RACE for Children Act and the Mikaela Naylon Give Kids a Chance Act have established a requirement that new adult cancer drugs are studied in pediatric cancers. Goodman received a J.D. from the University of Chicago, an M.P.P. from Harvard Kennedy School of Government and a B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania.

Hicks, Robertson, Seigel and Goodman will receive the Doctor of Humanities in Medicine, awarded to individuals who have provided exceptional support or service, either directly or indirectly, to Baylor College of Medicine or to academic medicine as a whole and to the community at large.