INDIANAPOLIS — Eric S. Williams, M.D., professor of medicine at the Indiana University School of Medicine and Indiana University Health cardiologist, is being inducted into a special league of the nation’s most highly skilled heart physicians.
Dr. Williams has been chosen to receive the prestigious Master designation from the American College of Cardiology in recognition of his extraordinary service as a clinician, educator and visionary leader in the cardiovascular field. Dr. Williams, who is currently a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology, will be honored at the College’s Annual Convocation Ceremony being held in Washington, D.C. on Monday, March 31. With this designation, Williams will join a small, elite group of the nation’s most highly esteemed cardiologists who have received this award.
The American College of Cardiology bestows its Master designation to a limited number of its Fellows who have served the College in good standing for more than 15 years. To qualify as a Master, honorees must demonstrate excellence in education, clinical practice and scholarship and provide consistent leadership, dedicated service and substantial contributions in support of the College’s goals, programs and activities.
“While I am honored and humbled to receive this recognition, I am also keenly aware that they reflect the system in which I work and the efforts and contributions of all members of our team,” said Dr. Williams, who serves in multiple roles as the executive vice president of academic affairs and director of cardiology services for IU Health.
Dr. Williams, a native of Louisville, Ky., earned his bachelor’s and medical degrees from Indiana University and has spent his professional career with IU School of Medicine, becoming a professor in 1985. Throughout his career, Dr. Williams has trained generations of fellows at IU’s Krannert Institute of Cardiology — many of whom have gone on to serve the American College of Cardiology at all levels, including national leadership. Williams has also received numerous teaching awards including the Glenn W. Irwin Jr. Distinguished Faculty Award recognizing extraordinary service to IU.
As a visionary leader in the American College of Cardiology, Williams has helped to shape the future for practicing cardiologists in the 21st century. He served as co-chair of the College’s annual board and recertification review and annual scientific session and led its efforts to define clinical competencies for cardiologists.
“For his dedication to clinical excellence, his development of generations of cardiology trainees and his vision of the future of cardiovascular medicine with an unwavering dedication to professionalism, Dr. Eric S. Williams is most deserving of the title Master of the American College of Cardiology,” said Richard Kovacs, M.D., a former student of Williams’ who now serves as an IU Health cardiologist, professor of clinical medicine for the Krannert Institute of Cardiology and a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology.