CMSC Awards

The Chicago Medical Student Council (CMSC) Awards Night recognize the exceptional contribution of the people who make our College of Medicine a community of which we are all proud members. Awards are held annually near the end of the spring semester. Nominations and voting are open to every member of the student body, to better reflect the best of the College of Medicine.

The Frank T. Sparks Memorial Award for Excellence in Medical Education Support Staff

This award promotes and recognizes the outstanding contributions of the late Frank T. Sparks to the area of medical education by a support staff member.

The C. Thomas Bombeck Award for Excellence in Medical Education

This award promotes and recognizes the outstanding contributions of the late C. Thomas Bombeck to the area of medical education by a faculty member.

The Abbas Hyderi Leadership Award

This award recognizes two members in each class who have displayed outstanding student leadership and advocacy during their careers at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine.

The Maria Devens Memorial Award

The Dr. Maria Devens Memorial Award seeks to honor those individuals who promote interpersonal cooperation and aim to alleviate the psychosocial stressors associated with medical training through their actions. Students are invited to nominate any peers, faculty, or staff who they have witnessed engage in such an action, no matter whether the action affects two people or two hundred. The award seeks to honor the memory of Dr. Devens, who devoted much of her research to educating students and residents about sources of stress within the medical profession and promoting attention to personal well-being during medical training.

Nominations will be solicited in the spring each academic year and a recipient will be chosen through a selection committee composed of individuals from the Chicago Medical Student Council Executive Board, each Class Board, and one representative from the Department of Family Medicine. The Devens Memorial Award will be awarded at most once per academic year, but if a deserving recipient is not found by the selection committee, it may not be awarded each year.

The Pulido Award for Excellence in Medical Education in Surgery

The purpose of this award is to acknowledge outstanding teaching of medical students by a faculty member in the surgery or the surgical subspecialties. The criteria include enthusiasm for the subject, respect for the medical students, and the promotion of lifelong learning and research.

The Reeves Memorial Award

This award commemorates a UIC medical student who died during his third year. Each year, the third year class chooses a third year student to receive this award. The student who receives this award should exemplify one or more of the following qualities:

• A student who has suffered unusual hardship
• Outstanding student leadership or representation
• Outstanding student volunteer or tutor
• Outstanding strength of character

The Golden Apple Award for Excellence in Medical Education

This award recognizes one faculty member for each class for their outstanding teaching of medical students and contribution to the education of that class.