Honoring a distinguished career of impact and the philanthropic generosity of his peers, UT Southwestern Medical Center announced the creation of an endowed professorship in Emergency Medicine and Emergency Medical Services. The professorship is named in honor of Raymond Fowler, M.D., a Professor of Emergency Medicine, in recognition of two decades of service to UT Southwestern and a distinguished career of more than 45 years as an international leader in the subspecialty of emergency medical services.

To date, more than $140,000 has been contributed to support the endowment, including gifts from Dr. Fowler’s former students, trainees, friends, and colleagues. The professorship recognizes Dr. Fowler’s contributions to the field and will support a holder's efforts in the areas of emergency medicine and emegency medical services, including research, education, clinical practice, and fostering partnerships with the greater emergency medical services community.

“Physicians in our profession understand Dr. Fowler’s profound effect on our lives and the field of emergency medical services. His leadership and service to our field have made an incredible impact, and this endowment ensures that significance will be a lasting part of his legacy at UT Southwestern,” said Deborah Diercks, M.D., Professor and Chair of Emergency Medicine at UT Southwestern, who led the steering committee for the fundraising effort.

Other steering committee members included Angela F. Gardner, M.D., Professor of Emergency Medicine at UT Southwestern; S. Marshal Isaacs, M.D., Professor of Emergency Medicine at UT Southwestern and Chief Medical Officer for the City of Dallas and Dallas Fire-Rescue; Brandon Morshedi, M.D., Emergency Medicine Physician with Baptist Health System and Medical Director for Arkansas State Parks and the Arkansas region of Air Evac, and Kathy J. Rinnert, M.D., Professor of Emergency Medicine at UT Southwestern and EMS Medical Director for BioTel EMS System and Parkland Health.

Dr. Fowler joined the UT Southwestern faculty in 2001 as Chief of the Division of Emergency Medical Services and helped build a nationally recognized emergency medicine program at the Medical Center. He began practicing emergency medicine before it became a formalized specialty and attended medical school in the 1970s before there was a 911 system in place. Recognizing the life-saving potential of providing emergency care for patients before they reach the hospital, he helped set in place EMS standards.

Credited with helping to lead the professionalization of emergency medical services as a subspecialty, Dr. Fowler was a founding member of the National Association of EMS Physicians, and he served as the organization’s second President. He was also the “First Eagle” of the EMS Eagles Global Alliance, a coalition of physicians who develop EMS protocols and training used globally and provide out-of-hospital trauma and resuscitative care to one third of the U.S. population and tens of millions of people around the world.

By championing prehospital care across the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, Dr. Fowler played a key role in developing the UT Southwestern/Parkland BioTel EMS System, a consortium that unifies 13 EMS agencies across North Texas. He also contributed meaningfully to prehospital training throughout the U.S. and internationally, publishing dozens of research articles and an EMS textbook.

Dr. Fowler served on the frontlines of hurricane responses in 2005 and 2008 that impacted Texas, helping communities work together with medical teams. In 2018, he oversaw the setup and operation of the largest disaster response in Dallas’ history as the community cared for evacuees in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he created virtual shadowing opportunities for students who were unable to immerse themselves into the clinic environment and led a weekly online lecture series that reached more than 20,000 people.

• Dr. Diercks holds the Audre and Bernard Rapoport Distinguished Chair in Clinical Care and Research.
• Dr. Fowler holds the James M. Atkins, M.D. Distinguished Professorship in Emergency Medical Services.