A Permanent Legacy: The Cliff A. Megerian, MD, Chair is Established
February 21, 2024
Innovations in Ear, Nose & Throat | Winter 2024
University Hospitals CEO Cliff A. Megerian, MD, FACS, was recently surprised with an extraordinary honor. Unbeknownst to him, grateful friends and colleagues raised $1.5 million to establish the Cliff A. Megerian, MD, Chair in Excellence in Otolaryngology.
“I have not received a more meaningful honor in my professional life than being informed at our UH Board of Trustees meeting that a group of donors got together and decided there should be a chair endowed in my name,” Dr. Megerian says.
Appointed CEO in 2020, Dr. Megerian is the nation’s only neurotologist leading an academic medical center. He oversees University Hospitals’ 21 hospitals (including five joint ventures), more than 50 outpatient facilities and over 200 physicians. His distinguished clinical career has been devoted to the management of hearing loss and conditions of the ear.
A co-founder of University Hospitals’ acclaimed Cochlear Implant Center, he and his team have performed over 1,500 implant surgeries. Dr. Megerian is also a transformational leader, previously serving as Chair of the UH Ear, Nose and Throat Institute and President of the UH Physicians Network, Physician Services and System Institute.
“From my early days at UH, Dr. Megerian has exemplified the mission of UH Hospitals: To Heal. To Teach. To Discover,” says Nicole Maronian, MD, the Richard W. and Patricia R. Pogue Leadership Chair of the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery and Director of the UH Ear, Nose & Throat Institute at University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center and the Julius W. McCall Professor and Endowed Chair at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.
Dr. Megerian has trained a generation of otolaryngologists and his passion has always remained focused on the importance of training for residents and fellows. Alumni have stated, “It has been the honor of a lifetime to train with him, from the operating room to the board room.”
Efforts to create the Cliff A. Megerian Chair were spearheaded by Dr. Maronian and Daniel Simon, MD, President of Academic & External Affairs, Chief Scientific Officer and the Ernie and Patti Novak Distinguished Chair in Health Care Leadership at University Hospitals and the Herman K. Hellerstein Professor at School of Medicine. With the establishment of its seventh chair, the University Hospitals Ear, Nose & Throat Institute continues to be one of the nation’s most endowed programs.
Sarah Mowry, MD, Named Inaugural Cliff A. Megerian, MD, Chair
Sarah Mowry, MD, is the first physician to hold the Cliff A. Megerian, MD, Chair. Dr. Mowry is Vice Chair of Education and Residency Program Director for the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at UH Cleveland Medical Center. She holds the title of Professor of Otolaryngology at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. During her tenure, she has expanded and strengthened the renowned UH Otolaryngology training program, added CME symposiums, added fellowships, clinical research fellow infrastructure and evolved faculty development.
“To be the inaugural Cliff Megerian Chair is a huge honor and a tremendous opportunity for our educational programs,” Dr. Mowry says. “The donors who made this possible gave their support as a lasting tribute to Dr. Megerian and his legacy in our department and will enable us to expand our educational footprint, not only for our trainees but also nationally.”
The chair will sit permanently within the education section as a tribute to Dr. Megerian’s commitment to superior training and program growth within the UH Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery.
Drs. Cliff Megerian (L) and Sarah Mowry.“Funds endowed through this chair will provide ongoing resources to think about learners at all places along the spectrum — including medical students, residents, fellows and faculty — in a systematic and rigorous way,” Dr. Mowry says. In addition to covering expenses for outside coursework, she is excited to invite visiting experts to University Hospitals. Funds will also allow for capital improvement and increased equipment for educational initiatives, including the Temporal Bone Course and ENT Skills Bootcamp.
“As Residency Program Director, Dr. Mowry instills a culture of compassion and superior patient care delivery. She is also a fantastic recruiter of talented medical students who become our residents,” Dr. Megerian says. “It is of great solace to me to know that the holder of this chair for generations to come will embody the tenets of educational, service and recruiting excellence, which are the bedrock of an academic department of otolaryngology.”