From serving our country to nurturing future generations of medical students

For 40 years, Gerard R. (Gerry) Cox, MD’83, MHA, has built a distinguished medical career rooted in government and military service, including his current role as the assistant under secretary for health for quality and patient safety in the Veterans Health Administration. Now, Dr. Cox is building a legacy in medical education through a scholarship he funded with his wife, Catherine W. Cox, RN, PhD, to benefit students at UMass Chan Medical School.

An interest in science combined with a drive to help others compelled Dr. Cox to pursue a career as a physician. A Massachusetts native, Dr. Cox was excited to matriculate at the Medical School in 1979, where the developing campus held the promise of a new, dynamic institution. 

Reflecting on his time as a medical student, Dr. Cox recalls small class sizes and a congenial, collaborative atmosphere where students seemed happy to be learning alongside each other—a refreshing departure from more competitive academic cultures.

“I was happier as a medical student than as an undergraduate, which says a lot,” said Dr. Cox, who made long-lasting friendships with classmates that remain strong.

According to Dr. Cox, UMass Chan prepared him well for a less traditional career in medicine that began to take shape during his deployment to Saudi Arabia amid the Persian Gulf War. He went on to spend more than 30 years as a U.S. Navy medical officer before joining the Veterans Health Administration, serving in a series of hospital leadership roles with increasingly complex responsibilities, including executive positions on the staffs of the Navy surgeon general, the commandant of the Marine Corps, the commander of U.S. Navy forces in the Middle East, and the naval inspector general. He also served as a White House physician for Presidents William J. Clinton and George W. Bush.

Dr. Cox is impressed with how far the Medical School has come since he graduated. 

“UMass is a very different and much bigger place than when I was a student,” he said. “The physical changes are striking; the campus is covered with education and research facilities. It’s built a national reputation for turning out well-trained physicians, many of whom go into primary care.” 

He enjoyed reconnecting with classmates at Reunion 2023, where he received the Alumni Distinguished Service Award in recognition of his medical career and significant impact on the health of thousands of service men and women, veterans and their families. Dr. Cox was joined by his and Catherine’s son, Alex, who continues to live in the Boston area after earning both his Bachelor of Arts and joint graduate degree in urban planning and public administration at Harvard University. Meanwhile, their daughter, Caroline, is a member of the George Washington University School of Medicine Class of 2026. 

In honor of reunion, he and Catherine, who is a tenured associate professor at the George Washington University School of Nursing and served as a nurse in the U.S. Navy, decided to start an endowed scholarship fund. 

“I had the benefit of attending UMass on a U.S. Navy Health Professions Scholarship, and graduated debt-free,” Dr. Cox said. “Knowing that scholarships help relieve the financial pressure of a medical education, we’re happy to give back to deserving students so they can focus more on learning.”