Medical Director of the George Washington University (GW) Office of International Medicine Programs (IMP), Stanley Knoll, MD, RESD ’74, was recently granted Clinical Professor Emeritus of Surgery status at the university. His new title is a culmination of decades of service he has put toward the advancement of general surgery and international medical education.
Knoll’s emeritus status, along with three of his fourteen colleagues who were named emeriti in 2024, was celebrated at the School of Medicine and Health Sciences (SMHS) Bicentennial Excellence Awards in January 2024. As stated by the SMHS Office of Faculty Affairs, “emeritus status is awarded to only a select number of faculty upon retirement, after the faculty member’s department votes to recommend them and the Board of Trustees approves the recommendation.” Due to the selectivity of recognition, the appointment of emeritus status is a great achievement given to those who have made a lasting impact on the university.
Knoll has been with the Office of International Medicine Programs (IMP) at the GW SMHS since 1993, even before its official founding. He has served as Medical Director of IMP since 2003, and has travelled, operated, published, and lectured abroad extensively. He has taught and consulted on surgical, educational, and administrative medical issues in Europe, Asia, the Caribbean, and Latin America. He has also participated in humanitarian missions from Guatemala to Vietnam. He also has extensive experience in the Middle East and North Africa, particularly in Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Lebanon, and Egypt. Among his any accomplishments in the region, Knoll was instrumental in founding and directing the Breast Cancer Center at King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre, which continues under the leadership of one of his former residents there.
Aside from his extensive history with the IMP, Knoll’s SMHS connections date back even further. After completing residency training in the GW Department of Surgery, and serving two years in the U.S. Army, Knoll returned to GW, this time as a faculty member. He taught students in their clerkships and concurrently continued his clinical practice at the GW Medical Faculty Associates. He retired from clinical practice in 2016, but remains actively involved as an educator in the Department of Surgery, along with his role as IMP’s Medical Director.
“Dr. Knoll is revered by his students and colleagues for his wisdom, humor, and compassion,” said Huda Ayas, Executive Director of IMP. “He has been an invaluable contributor, not only to the IMP team, but also to the broader SMHS and GW communities, and to our global partners, as is reflected by this high honor of emeritus status. We could not be happier to celebrate him.”
