2007 World Citizen Award Recipient Dr. Francis Robicsek   This year, on November 1st, the World Affairs Council of Charlotte will honor Dr. Francis Robicsek with the World Citizen Award. The reception will begin at 6pm with dinner to follow at 7:15pm at the Westin Hotel.      Dr. Robicsek grew up in Hungary and moved to Charlotte in 1956. With over 40 years of practice, he has a very distinguished medical career and we are honored to have him as our guest. We hope you will join us in recognizing his many contributions to the international community.   Award Presentation by Mr. Michael Tarwater   Michael Tarwater is president and CEO of Carolinas HealthCare.    Tickets are available for individual purchase at $175 per person for the dinner and $250 per person for dinner and the private reception with Dr. Robicsek.  Seating will be based on a first-come, first-serve basis, so get your tickets early! Please call 704-687-7762 with your check or credit card (MasterCard or Visa only) payment.     Dr. Robicsek is currently featured on “Charlotte: a City of International Success” series on Channel 17/ Time Warner, CPCC TV. You can see his interview on Tuesdays: 5:00PM and 10:00PM; Saturdays: 5:30PM; and Sundays: 6:30AM, 12:00PM, 5:30PM, 8:00PM, 10:30PM

Francis Robicsek, M.D., Ph.D.

 

Dr. Francis Robicsek is Chairman of the Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery at Carolinas Medical Center; Medical Director of the Carolinas Heart Institute; and Professor of Surgery at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.  He is certified by the Hungarian Board of Surgery, the American Board of Thoracic & Cardiovascular Surgery, the American Board of Surgery, and the European Board of Cardiovascular Surgery.  Dr. Robicsek is originally from Miskolc, Hungary but has lived in Charlotte, North Carolina since 1956.

 

Dr. Robicsek’s accomplishments are as numerous as they are diverse. He is Past Governor, American College of Cardiology of North Carolina; a member of the Scientific Council of the Cardiothoracic Institute of Monaco; and Past Chairman, Committee on Medico-Legal Affairs, Society of Thoracic Surgeons.  Dr. Robicsek is a Past Examiner for the American Board of Thoracic Surgery and is a member of many professional societies including the American Association for Thoracic Surgery, the Society of Thoracic Surgeons, the American College of Surgeons, the American Vascular Society and many more.  He is Past President of the Southern Thoracic Surgical Society and is an Honorary Member of the German Society of Thoracic Surgery, the Scandinavian Society of Thoracic Surgery, most recently the European Society for Cardio Vascular Surgery, the Surgical Society of Guatemala, and the Surgical Society of Costa Rica, to name a few.

 

Dr. Robicsek was elected Citizen of the Year by the state of North Carolina in 1976, and listed among the 100 Carolinians of the Century by the Charlotte Observer in 1999.  He received the Order of the Quetzal, Rank of Commander, Guatemala, and is a recipient of the Justus-Liebig Medal of Distinction, Justus-Liebig University.  He is an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters, Queens College and a member of the James Duke Society, Duke University.  He was listed in The Best Doctors in America in 1995 and 1996.  Dr. Robicsek has published seven books and written more than 600 papers in medicine, anthropology and bioengineering, and has presented more than 500 lectures at national and international meetings.

 

Dr. Robicsek has provided surgical assistance and training in several foreign countries such as Guatemala, Honduras, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Dominican Republic, Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria, Lithuania, Poland, Macedonia, Russia, Israel, China, Italy, France, England and Germany.  He has also provided equipment and helped build hospitals in many third world countries.

 

Dr. Robicsek is an avid collector of art and established the Pre-Columbian collection at the Mint Museum of Art in Charlotte, NC.  He also has a noted collection of Spanish-Colonial art, Medieval Dutch paintings and Russian icons and has written several books on Pre-Columbian art.

 

Dr. Robicsek is married to Dr. Livia K. Robicsek and has four children, Steven, Susanne, John and Frances, and 5 grandchildren.