May 21, 2002 -- Washington, DC -- On Sunday, May 19, 2002, during The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences (SMHS) Commencement Ceremony, University President Stephen Joel Trachtenberg awarded the prestigious President's Medal to Alan B. Miller, MBA, president and chairman of the Board, Universal Health Services, Inc.; and Kenneth P. Moritsugu, MD, Acting Surgeon General of the United States. The President's Medal is a special tribute to special guests, family and friends of the University. Previous recipients include Vaclav Havel, first president of the Czech Republic; Mikhail Gorbachev, past president of the former U.S.S.R; Walter Cronkite, award-winning journalist; singer Judy Collins; Sam Halperin, youth advocate; Mark Russell, political satirist; Henry Graff, Columbia University Professor of History; and entertainer Victor Borge, among others. "We are pleased to be able to bestow this prestigious honor on Alan Miller for his philanthropic contribution to the arts, his leadership against racism as well as his outstanding contributions and humanitarian efforts to the country through healthcare," said Dr. Williams. Alan B. Miller founded Universal Health Services, Inc. (UHS), one of the largest proprietary hospital management companies in the nation, in 1978. Now in its 24th year of operation, UHS is operating 100 facilities in 22 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and France, with revenues of approximately $3.2 billion. An authority on hospital management and development, Mr. Miller served as healthcare advisor to the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service and has formulated positions on healthcare policy that have affected national legislation. Mr. Miller's accomplishments are many and highly regarded in the healthcare industry. Prior to the founding of UHS, Mr. Miller served as chairman and president of American Medicorp (NYSE), until its takeover by Humana, Inc. in September of 1978. He had become president of Medicorp in 1973 at the age of 35, when the company's future was uncertain. He promptly resolved the company's serious financial and organizational problems, and over the next five years, built it into an industry leader and one of the most profitable healthcare companies. At the time of its takeover, American Medicorp was operating 56 hospitals with more than 10,000 beds in 18 states. The company, with 15,000 employees, was active internationally and was highly profitable. Among the pioneering activities developed under Mr. Miller's direction was the founding of an industry mutual insurance company, H.U.G. Ltd., to provide malpractice insurance to more than 200 hospitals at substantial saving. Mr. Miller served as the company's first chairman. The company also secured the first FHA/GNMA financing of a proprietary hospital. The acquisition of the five Stewards Foundation hospitals in 1982 marked the first sale by a religious chain to a proprietary company. Mr. Miller is a graduate of the College of William and Mary in Virginia. He earned his MBA at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, where he now serves on its Executive Board. He holds an honorary Doctor of Business Administration degree from The University of South Carolina. He served as a trustee of the William and Mary Endowment Fund, is a lifetime member of the School's President's Council and served on two advisory boards at the University of Pennsylvania. In addition, Mr. Miller is chairman emeritus of the Opera Company of Philadelphia. He serves as a director of CDI Corp., Penn Mutual Life Insurance Company and Kimmel Performing Arts Center of Philadelphia. He is a recipient of the Industry Award of the Federation of American Health Systems and the Americanism Award of A.D.L. He won the Entrepreneur of the Year award in 1991 and was named CEO of the Year in Hospital Management in 1992. The George Washington University Medical Center is an internationally recognized interdisciplinary academic health center, which has consistently provided high quality medical care in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area for 176 years. The Medical Center comprises the School of Medicine and Health Sciences, the 11th oldest medical school in the country; the School of Public Health and Health Services, the only such school in the nation's capital; GW Hospital, jointly owned and operated by a partnership between The George Washington University and Universal Health Services, Inc.; and the GW Medical Faculty Associates, an independent faculty practice plan. For more information on GWUMC, visit www.gwumc.edu.