After three days of expanding knowledge, reaching new heights, rising to challenges and stretching limits, ACC.17 will come to a close this evening with the time-honored tradition of Convocation.

Presided over by outgoing ACC President Richard A. Chazal, MD, FACC, the Convocation Ceremony will usher in 225 new ACC Fellows and nearly 20 new Associates. In addition, recipients of ACC’s Distinguished Awards, as well as recipients of ACC/Merck Research Fellowships, the ACC/William F. Keating, Esq. Endowment Career Development Award, ACC Presidential Career Development Award, the William W. Parmley Young Author Awards for the Journal of the American College of Cardiology (JACC), the Young Author Achievement Awards for JACC Journals, and the ACC Young Investigator Awards, will be recognized.

"Convocation offers an opportunity to acknowledge and thank those who are moving our profession forward, as well as recognize those who have helped us reach where we are today." — Mary Norine Walsh, MD, FACC

“Convocation is a time to recognize outstanding leaders in the cardiovascular field – both new and old,” said Chazal. “I’m also looking forward to formally welcoming all of the new Fellows and Associates who have chosen to dedicate their lives to transforming cardiovascular care and improving heart health. These men and women are the future of our profession and of the College.”

The evening also marks the official installation of new ACC leaders, including the new president. Tonight, Chazal will pass the presidential chain to Mary Norine Walsh, MD, FACC, ACC’s third female president. Walsh is medical director of the heart failure and cardiac transplantation programs and director of nuclear cardiology at St. Vincent Heart Center in Indianapolis. She is also program director of the St. Vincent Advanced Heart Failure and Transplantation Fellowship.

“Convocation offers an opportunity to acknowledge and thank those who are moving our profession forward, as well as recognize those who have helped us reach where we are today,” said Walsh. “Our ACC ‘team’ is better for their participation and involvement.”

Keywords: ACC Publications, ACC Scientific Session Newspaper, ACC Annual Scientific Session, Awards and Prizes, Fellowships and Scholarships, Financial Management, Heart Transplantation, Heart Failure, Physician Executives