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Alumni Award of Honor

Celebrating our leaders

The Alumni Award of Honor is the highest honor awarded by the College of Charleston Alumni Association. It is presented to those individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the Association and/or to the College. Both alumni and friends of the College are eligible for this award.

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2024 Alumni Award of Honor

H. Biemann Othersen Jr. ’50, MD

Born and raised in Charleston, Dr. H. Biemann Othersen Jr. ’50 graduated from the High School of Charleston in 1946. Initially accepted at Clemson College with plans to become an electrical engineer, his path shifted when he and many other students were asked to defer enrollment for a year to accommodate the influx of World War II veterans using the GI Bill. During this time, Dr. Othersen enrolled at the College of Charleston, where he discovered a passion for medicine while pursuing pre-medical studies.

After three transformative years at the College, he was accepted to the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC). Following his first year of medical school, he earned his BS in medicine with the College’s Class of 1950 and went on to receive his MD in 1953. Dr. Othersen continued his training for nine years, which included two years of service in the U.S. Navy during the Korean War.

In 1965, Dr. Othersen made history by returning to MUSC to establish the Pediatric Surgery Service as South Carolina’s first pediatric surgeon and one of the first in the Southeast. He played a pivotal role in the founding of the MUSC Children’s Hospital, which opened in 1987, ensuring that children received top-tier care. His dedication and leadership in pediatric medicine have had a lasting impact on the state and beyond.

A devoted alumnus, Dr. Othersen has remained closely connected to the College of Charleston through his service on the Alumni Association Board and the Cougar Club Board. He was awarded an honorary degree in 2017 and was the inaugural recipient of the Outstanding Service Award in Medicine. In recognition of his contributions, the H. Biemann Othersen Jr. M.D. Pediatric Operating Suite at the MUSC Shawn Jenkins Children’s Hospital was named in his honor.

Though retired from clinical practice, Dr. Othersen continues to teach. He and his wife, Janelle, reside in Charleston and have four children and eight grandchildren. They are passionate supporters of the College, contributing to the H. Biemann Othersen Jr. Annual Scholarship Fund and the Cougar Club Fund.

Alumni Award of Honor Past Recipients

Joseph P. Riley, Jr. ’09 (honorary degree)
Louester Smalls Robinson ’77
Daniel Ravenel ’72
Charles J. Baker III ’80
George W. Barnette III ’58
Michelle Baxley and Johnnie Baxley ’92
Norman A. Chamberlain ’09 *
Louis E. Condon ’50 *
Sylvester D. Craig ’05 *
Alexander C. Dick ’15 *
Charlotte Buist Dickson ’37 *
Daniel S. Dukes IV ’76
Elmina L. Eason ’28 *
J. Harold Easterby ’20 *
James B. Edwards ’50 *
Margaret Ehrhardt ’66
Yvonne duFort Evans ’58
Harry W. Freeman ’43 *
Alexander L. Geisenheimer ’03 *
Otto B. German ’73
Kenneth S. (Gus) Gustafson, Sr. ’75
Sylvia Craver Harvey ’58
Robert Heffron, Sr. ’39 *
William D. Hilton ’51
Gedney M. Howe, Jr. ’35 *
F. Mitchell Johnson ’37 *
Jean Wayland Johnson & Tapley O. Johnson, Jr., FR
John M. Jordan, Jr. ’62 *
John L. Kresse, FR
Edward Kronsberg, FR *
Marie M. Land, FR
Charles L. Latimer, Jr. ’44 *
Lionel K. Legge ’09 *
Wendell M. Levi ’12 *
Harry M. Lightsey, Jr., FR *
Carl J. Likes ’37 *
Tony Meyer ’49 *
William V. Moore, FR *
Harold A. Mouzon ’13 *
John D. Muller, FR *
Gregory D. Padgett ’79
J. Robertson Paul ’10 *
Edwin S. Pearlstine, Jr., FR
Milly Deas Pinckney ’51 *
Bernard F. Puckhaber ’50 *
Mary Loretto Croghan Ramsay ’42 *
Kitty Gianatos Rentiers ’51
Myrtle Craver Riggs ’46 *
G. L. Buist Rivers ’16 *
George C. Rogers, Jr. ’43 *
John Arthur Siegling ’28 *
Mary Geraty Silcox ’33 *
Willard A. Silcox ’33 *
Willard A. (Billy) Silcox, Jr. ’65
Robert Scott Small ’36 *
Sam Stafford III ’68
Theodore S. Stern, FR *
Gordan B. Stine ’44 *
Emily Molony Swanson ’89 and Steve D. Swanson ’89
W. Leigh Thompson ’57 *
Jane Lucas Thornhill ’46 *
Edward E. Towell ’34 *
Elizabeth Jenkins Young ’39 *
John A. Zeigler, Jr., FR *

*Deceased

FR=Friend of the College