Dr. Rusty Reeves, a fixture at HSC since 1992, actually predates the school where he earned his PhD. The Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at HSC was founded in 1993, one year after Dr. Reeves arrived as a student. 

That first year, Dr. Reeves had to travel to Denton, where he remembers going to register for classes as a “highlight.” Things have changed a lot in 28 years, but not Dr. Reeves dedication and value to HSC. 

As the Director of the Center for Anatomical Sciences (CAS), Reeves oversaw the renovation of the Anatomy Teaching Laboratory three years ago. He brought in specific personnel to grow the HSC’s Willed Body Program into one of the largest in the state. 

Dr. Reeves’ team also oversees an ever-growing educational component. When he came on board as a faculty member, about 140 TCOM and physician assistant students came through the lab every year for gross anatomy. Now that figure is over 600 students annually.  

He and his outstanding team in the CAS are integral to the medical education for students at HSC. Through their work, they make health care safer, while exemplifying both Extraordinary Teamwork and our mission of creating solutions for a healthier community. To ensure that, they host clinical skills training events for EMTs, residents and clinicians, and other healthcare professionals from the area and across the U.S. in the BioSkills training facility.  

Along with the other CAS faculty, Dr. Reeves teaches cadaver-based anatomy to Medical (DO and MD), Physical Therapy, Physician Assistant and Graduate students. 

He has received several awards for teaching excellence at HSC, including the Golden Apple Teaching Award in 2009, the President’s Award for Educational Excellence in 2013, and Valubility of the Year Award in 2015. 

We are proud to call Dr. Reeves one of our 50 heroes.

---

Contribute Honor your HSC hero today! Please make a tribute gift, submit a photo or share a story that you value. Join us throughout 2020 as we celebrate the people, events and innovations that made UNTHSC all it is today — and look ahead to the next 50 years. For the 50th anniversary, team members nominated people whose contributions make them HSC Heroes. Each week, a new Hero will be revealed. View the list of all our Hero profiles published so far this year. There is a new one each week.