Walter J. McDonald, MD, MACP, former EVP/CEO, dies at 85
Dr. McDonald led the College for seven years before stepping down.
Walter J. McDonald, MD, MACP, a former Executive Vice President and CEO of the College, died July 31, 2023. He was 85.
Dr. McDonald attended the University of Michigan Medical School in Ann Arbor and was elected to Alpha Omega Alpha in 1963. He served in the U.S. Army and became a flight surgeon. Dr. McDonald completed his residency in internal medicine at the University of Oregon Medical School in Portland, followed by a two-year NIH fellowship in endocrinology at University of Michigan Medical School.
Dr. McDonald was an assistant professor of medicine at University of Oregon Medical School and Portland Veterans Hospital, where he served as chief of the renal-metabolic-endocrinology section as well as chief of medicine. At the University of Oregon, he was vice chairman of the department of medicine and associate dean for education and student affairs.
In 1995, Dr. McDonald was named ACP's Executive Vice President and CEO, and in 1998, he oversaw the merger of ACP and the American Society of Internal Medicine. Dr. McDonald led the College for seven years before stepping down. In 2002, he assumed the leadership of the Council of Medical Specialty Societies (CMSS), where he served for more than five years. He then became an active partner and vice president at Quality Health Consultants (QHC) until his retirement.
Dr. McDonald was Governor for ACP's Oregon Chapter from 1989 to 1993 and served as Chair of the Board of Governors from 1993 to 1994. He was a member of the Board of Regents from 1992 to 1994 and became an MACP in 2003. In 2004, ACP established the Walter J. McDonald Award for Early Career Physicians, which recognizes outstanding achievement by a physician member who is within 16 years of graduating medical school.
Dr. McDonald is survived by his wife of 58 years, Barbara Forrette McDonald; a daughter, Kelly, and a son, Jay, and their spouses; seven grandchildren; and nieces and nephews. Donations to ACP in Dr. McDonald's memory can be made online.
