Awards

Honorary Degree - 1985

D.S.

Doctor of Science

Commencement

Indianapolis, Indiana

Presenter: John William Ryan

Distinguished Professor (Emeritus) - 1970

National Academies - 1951

American Association for the Advancement of Science

About Harris B. Shumacker, Jr.

Harris B. Shumacker, Jr. served as the third chair of the Department of Surgery at IU School of Medicine from 1948 to 1968. Originally from Mississippi, he received his medical training at Johns Hopkins University and underwent surgical training under Dr. Alfred Blalock. After serving as an instructor in surgery at Yale University and a return to Johns Hopkins, he served in the U.S. Army during World War II. Upon his return, he became an associate professor at Yale. Shumacker was a pioneering figure in Indiana's vascular and cardiac surgery, performing the state's first open-heart surgeries and contributing to synthetic graft development.

He made significant medical contributions, including describing sympathectomy for frostbite and co-describing post-splenectomy infection and sepsis with Dr. Harold King. Under his leadership, cardiothoracic surgery postgraduate training began at IU School of Medicine, and in 1964, the first renal transplant in Indiana was performed by Dr. John Donohue and Dr. John Glover. Shumacker's prolific career included authoring over 500 articles, chapters and textbooks. Shumacker received a distinguished professorship at Indiana University in 1970 and an honorary degree in 1985, in recognition of his extensive contributions to medicine and the university.