A Tribute to William T Thorwarth Jr MD FACR

It’s the end of an era at the College.

This month, ACR CEO William T. Thorwarth Jr., MD, FACR, will retire after a decade of service. From heralding significant membership growth to overseeing the launch of the ACR Data Science Institute^® (DSI) to weathering the COVID-19 pandemic, the ACR has thrived under his leadership. 

As we prepare to say farewell but not goodbye, members and staff of the ACR sat down with the ACR Bulletin to share their thoughts on the man everyone knew simply as “Bill” and how he touched their lives and shepherded the specialty.

Bulletin: Share a personal or professional experience you’ve had with Bill that speaks to his character or personality. 

	Cynthia R. Moran, ACR executive vice president of government relations, economics and health policy: My husband and I have become close, personal friends with Bill and his wife, Nancy, over these last 10 years. In 2019, my husband Don was diagnosed with lung cancer and subsequently died in May 2021. Throughout this period, often multiple times a day, Bill and Nancy held Don and I tightly, collectively, and supported us through this very difficult and devastating period.
	Josh Cooper, ACR vice president of government relations and health policy: I have been fortunate to have interacted with Bill on several different levels during his time serving the ACR. He has excelled at being a rank-and-file volunteer, commission chair and, for the past 10 years, as CEO. As an advocate working with the ACR government relations team, Bill has provided incredible insight, valuable input and support as we develop strategies to benefit our members and the patients they serve.
	Bibb Allen Jr., MD, FACR, ACR DSI chief medical officer: Bill was a great mentor for me and gave me the opportunity to understand the intricacies of federal healthcare payment policy and advocate for fair payment for radiology services from CMS. This led to many years of working in the Commission on Economics and eventually becoming chair of the BOC and College officer. My path in organized medicine would not have been possible without Bill’s mentorship.
	Catherine J. Everett, MD, MBA, FACR, ACR vice president: In July 1980, I finished my fellowship at the University of North Carolina and joined a small private practice group in coastal New Bern, N.C. The hospital, Carolina East, was a small regional referral center but one of the first in eastern NC to have real emergency department doctors. Previously, the medical staff rotated call for the Emergency Room. Even the pathologists and radiologists were required to staff! Early on, I realized that there was a really smart guy in the ED seeing patients. His name was Dr. William Thorwarth.

	Johnson B. Lightfoote, MD, FACR, chair of the ACR Commission for Women and Diversity: I was introduced by Dr. William Bradley to Dr. William Thorwarth at a meeting of practice leaders that Bill T. had organized to establish a research and education fund for the RSNA. Bill B. said, "Bill T. is a visionary leader among the nation's radiologists, someone whom you need to know." I appreciated Bill T.'s command of the gathering, and he inspired all the practice leaders in attendance to return to our groups to make contributions that would lead to the funding of the Radiology Research and Education Fund of the RSNA.
	Dana H. Smetherman, MD, MBA, MPH, FACR, incoming ACR CEO: Bill is seen as a member of the team by ACR staff, who have profound respect for him as a person and as their CEO. Bill has been incredibly generous and supportive in working with me through the CEO transition. I have seen Bill’s interactions with ACR staff and been inspired to hone my own leadership skills — to develop the sense of camaraderie and teamwork that Bill has been able to foster. I can think of several times when I listened to Bill explain an issue facing the ACR and its members and gained a new perspective. He has an impressive ability to look at a problem or challenge from different viewpoints in a patient, balanced manner. I can see how that ability has benefited him throughout his career, including as ACR CEO. In my work as part of the ACR Commission on Breast Imaging, we frequently had challenging issues arise, especially around breast cancer screening. During his tenure as CEO, Bill gave us the leeway to develop a cadre of experts to serve as advocates for our patients and radiologists — at the same time recognizing and reminding us that we were not going to win every battle and that progress would be more like a marathon than a sprint.
	Lauren P. Nicola, MD, FACR, CEO of Triad Radiology Associates, ACR BOC member and chair of the ACR Commission on Ultrasound: As a fellow North Carolinian, private practice radiologist and ACR economics enthusiast, I’d like to think that Bill and I have some things in common. But Bill stands in a league of his own when it comes to the legacy he has created at the ACR. His ability to lead through challenges, garner respect from staff and maintain humility and approachability will always set him apart as an unparalleled leader within the College and our profession. Bill was instrumental in establishing the ACR as an organization with trusted and credible experts among the CPT® panel and the RUC. He has brought that same credibility to ACR as the leading organization for radiology.
	Geraldine McGinty, MD, MBA, FACR, past ACR BOC chair and senior associate dean for clinical affairs at Weill Cornell Medicine: As ACR board chair, I traveled the globe representing the College. I saw first-hand Bill's tireless dedication to our profession and the ACR, his gracious hospitality and respect for everyone he met and his encyclopedic knowledge of the healthcare payment policies that underpin our delivery system. As chair of the BOC, I relied on Bill's wise counsel and knew he would never shy away from giving his honest and informed opinion. On a more personal note, Bill is an absolutely hilarious storyteller. His tales of vacation mishaps have made my sides hurt.

Bulletin: What might our members not know about Bill? 

• Moran: Bill was my CEO when we were in the midst of an unprecedented period with the COVID-19 pandemic. People’s lives were upended in countless ways, but his friendship and support never paused or wavered. Bill is a natural born leader. More importantly, his humanism is what will outlast all his other amazing qualities as we remember his time with the ACR. He is a selfless, generous beyond words man who happened to marry an equally amazing woman. All of us who have gotten to know Bill and Nancy through our work and theirs with the ACR will never find friends of equal stature — and we are infinitely grateful to them both.
• Allen:  Some may know that Bill was a member of the Dartmouth College diving team. However, why he became a diver may be a little-known story. He initially considered trying out for the swim team but didn’t like the 4:30 am practices.
• Everett: While consulting with him on X-rays and CT films on the roller board, I learned that he had just married Nancy, and he no longer needed his kids’ live-in babysitter when he was on call. He gave me the babysitter’s name, and she helped me with my children for over 10 years. 
• Smetherman: Recently, Bill and I were traveling between meetings from Washington, D.C., to Boston. Bad weather caused the cancellation of many flights, including ours. As is often the case in these situations, there was a lot of confusion and misinformation. Bill seized the opportunity to take a flight to an alternate destination with no notice, basically jumping onto another plane straight out of the line at customer service. He did not hesitate and somehow figured out a way — in the middle of the night — to arrange for ground transportation from Providence, R.I., to Boston. I have no idea how he persuaded an Uber driver to take on this challenge at 1 am! Nonetheless, Bill made it to Boston and was ready to represent the ACR at a full schedule of meetings with other societies the following day. He never uttered a single complaint, just went with the flow and figured out a way to ensure the ACR was represented among our fellow radiology organizations. We are so fortunate to have had someone representing us with this kind of dedication to the College and to the specialty.

A Decade of Service: In March 2014, the Bulletin interviewed William T. Thorwarth Jr., MD, FACR, to learn why he chose to give up clinical practice to become the College’s new chief executive officer. Ten years later, the College is preparing to bid him farewell.