Clifford G. Pilz Memorial
Lectureship Series Heading link
The Clifford G. Pilz Lectureship Series was initiated to recognize more than 40 years of service by Clifford G. Pilz, MD ’45, to the Veterans Administration West Side Medical Center (now the VA Jesse Brown Medical Center) and the University of Illinois Chicago College of Medicine. During his long and distinguished career, Dr. Pilz’s dedication as a physician and teacher advanced the knowledge and enriched the lives of countless medical students, residents, fellows and postgraduates at UIC and the VA.
After earning both his baccalaureate and medical degrees from the University of Illinois Chicago, Dr. Pilz completed an internship at Cook County Hospital in Chicago in 1946. He served as a medical officer in the U.S. Army from 1946 to 1948. He then continued his education with training in pathology, followed by residency training in internal medicine at Cook County Hospital and the Hines Veterans Administration Medical Center in Hines, IL.
Dr. Pilz served as a staff physician for the Veterans Administration from 1952 until his retirement in 1993. After being recruited to the VA West Side in 1953, his devotion to the practice of medicine was apparent to everyone he encountered as he made rounds and taught medical students. In 1971, Dr. Pilz assumed his leadership role as chief of medical services at the VA West Side Medical Center and remained in this position for more than 20 years.
Dr. Pilz was the recipient of many awards and was widely recognized for his dedication and service to his patients and students and his alma mater. During his tenure, he received the coveted Raymond B. Allen Instructorship Award, known as the Golden Apple, 10 times.
Dr. Pilz was a fellow of the American College of Physicians and a fellow emeritus of the American College of Cardiology. He was a member of the Chicago Society of Internal Medicine and the American Association for the History of Medicine. He was also an honorary member of the Illinois chapter of Sigma Xi and the University of Illinois chapter of Alpha Omega Alpha. Dr. Pilz died on Feb. 8, 2005, after a lengthy illness. He is survived by his wife, Hilda, and his daughter, Theresa.