Walter Zeit Fellowship at the Medical College of Wisconsin
Since its inception in 1980, the Walter Zeit Fellowship has contributed significantly to MCW’s Annual Fund for Excellence as well as specific MCW programs. Members of the Walter Zeit Fellowship display leadership, loyalty, service, initiative and compassion for their community. These characteristics represent Dr. Zeit’s many contributions to MCW.
All Walter Zeit Fellows are listed in MCW’s online Annual Report and Honor Roll and are recognized at a formal recognition dinner each year in autumn. During this dinner they present the Walter Zeit Leadership Award to the outstanding student recipient, as well as celebrate the recipients of the three Walter Zeit Founding Dean awards. You can read more about each award below.
Membership in the Walter Zeit Fellowship is attainable through a minimum commitment of $25,000, payable over a maximum of five years ($5,000 per year). A Zeit contribution may be designated to the Annual Fund for Excellence, MCW’s only source of unrestricted funds, or any purpose you choose.
Honoring Our Walter Zeit Fellowship Award Recipients
This year’s award recipients truly embody the exemplary dedication and service that was not only exhibited by Walter Zeit, PhD ‘39, but also shared by each Walter Zeit Fellow.
Zeit Leadership Award and Founding Dean Award Recipients 2024-2025
Mark Ehioghae
Walter Zeit Leadership Award
Molly Perry
Matthew Hunsaker, MD Founding Dean Award
Justin York
Lisa G. Dodson, MD Founding Dean Award
Amelia Papadimitriou
Louis F. Jermain, MD Founding Dean Award
Awards Presented by the Walter Zeit Fellowship
Past Walter Zeit Leadership Award Recipients
Robert J. Tait ’89
Aldo Trovato ’90
Claudia M. Keidl Hoyen ’91
John E. Connolly, Jr. ’92
Nancy M. Grant ’93
Eric M. Siegal ’94
Robert R. Leschke ’95
Lina M. AbuJamra ’96
Cassandra D. Howard ’98
Nancy E. Havas ’99
Nikki J. Booms Allen ’00
Jeffrey A. Huebner ’01
Linda L. Sewell ’02
Travis N. Murray ’03
Susan L. Goldsmith ’04
Kara G. Miller Gill ’05
Sachin S. Pawar ’07
Sherrill D. Gutierrez ’08
Ana N. Cabán Cardona ’09
Alexis A. Vosooney ’10
Nicholas A. Kuehnel ’11
Elica Inagaki ’12
Emily J. Sweet ’13
Laura E. Tisch ’14
Julia N. Keyes ’16
Phoebe Jensen ’17
Douglas Pierce ’18
Emily A. Navarrete ’19
Mario Castellanos ‘20
Greta Berger ‘21
Megan Barthels ’22
Nina Punyamurthy ‘23
History of the Walter Zeit Fellowship
The late Derward Lepley, Jr., MD ‘49 formed the Walter Zeit Fellowship in 1980 to honor and permanently recognize the many contributions of Dr. Walter Zeit. Few individuals have been as closely associated with the Medical College of Wisconsin or have contributed as much to its growth as Dr. Walter Zeit.
In 1921, when Dr. Zeit first joined the Anatomy Department of what was then the Marquette University School of Medicine as a student assistant, the institution was in its infancy. It had been formed just eight years earlier through a merger of the Wisconsin College of Physicians & Surgeons and the Milwaukee Medical College. He went on to become a triple alumnus of Marquette University, receiving a BS in 1925, an MS in 1927 and a PhD in 1939.
Throughout his distinguished career as a teacher of anatomy, with faculty appointments ranging from student assistant to associate dean, Dr. Zeit instructed well over 4,500 medical students and thousands of other health care profession students. He was known for bringing a keen vitality to his teaching, raising anatomy from an academic discipline to a fresh and dynamic educational experience. He is best remembered by his students for the personal attention and understanding he shared with them. Dr. Zeit witnessed a half-century of phenomenal growth at MCW and he was also an integral part of that growth.
He was a gifted research scientist whose published work involved studies of nerve endings, and the structure and function of the junction between nerve fibers and muscle bodies. His affiliation with the Medical College of Wisconsin ultimately spanned six decades, three buildings and five deans.
“It gratifies me to know that the school is in good hands and its future as a quality academic school is assured.” Walter Zeit, PhD
Contact Us
Learn more about giving and the Walter Zeit Fellowship
Elsa Knysak
Director of Development
(414) 955-4516