Former Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner

Dr. Scott Gottlieb to present 2021 Waitt Lecture

Waitt, Morningside dedicating the event to Siouxland health care heroes

Sioux City, Iowa – Dr. Scott Gottlieb, an American physician who served as the 23^rd commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), will deliver the 2021 Waitt Lecture at Morningside University’s Eppley Auditorium, 3625 Garretson Ave., on Tuesday, Oct. 12, 2021, at 7:30 p.m. The event is free and open to the public, with area health care workers and students specifically encouraged to attend as there will be a moment of recognition prior to the lecture. Morningside will also be hosting a by-invitation dinner prior to the event to honor health care workers.

“The pandemic has demonstrated the incredible role our health care workers play in keeping our communities safe and healthy,” said Morningside University President John Reynders. “Norm Waitt wanted this year’s lecture to be an opportunity to honor the importance of health care within our community. Our intent is to do just that, with Dr. Scott Gottlieb presenting a lecture that gets us thinking about the future of science, medicine, and health care innovation.”

                  Dr. Gottlieb’s work focuses on advancing public health through developing and implementing innovative approaches to improving medical outcomes, reshaping health care delivery, and expanding consumer choice and safety. He is a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, a member of the board of directors of drug maker Pfizer, a member of the board of directors of the biotech company Illumina, a contributor to the cable financial news network CNBC, and a partner at the venture capital firm New Enterprise Associates. Since March 2020, Dr. Gottlieb has also been a frequent guest on CBS’s “Face the Nation” to discuss the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dr. Gottlieb is an aggressive advocate for advancing the health of patients, promoting health care access, and driving innovation. The agency’s historic and prolific advances in new policy distinguished his tenure as the FDA’s commissioner, in addition to a record-setting number of approvals of novel drugs, medical devices, and generic medicines. Under his leadership, the FDA advanced new frameworks for the modern and safe and effective oversight of gene therapies, cell based regenerative medicines, targeted drugs, and digital health devices. The FDA implemented new reforms to standardize drug reviews and make historic improvements of post market data collection and the use of real-world evidence. They promoted policies to reduce death and disease from tobacco, improve food safety, and aggressively confront addiction crises.

Previously, Dr. Gottlieb served as the FDA’s deputy commissioner for medical and scientific affairs and before that, as a senior adviser to the administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, where he helped advance policies to improve health care quality and promote the effective use of new medical technologies.

Dr. Gottlieb is widely published in leading medical journals and periodicals, including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Forbes, and The Washington Post. Fortune Magazine recognized him as one of the “World’s 50 Greatest Leaders” in 2018 and 2019. Modern Healthcare named him amongst the “Most Influential Physician Executive and Leaders” in 2018, 2019, and 2020. TIME magazine named him one of its “50 People Transforming Healthcare” in 2018.

Dr. Gottlieb has a medical degree from Mount Sinai School of Medicine and did his residency in internal medicine at the Mount Sinai Medical Center. He has a Bachelor of Arts in economics from Wesleyan University. He lives in Westport, Conn. with his wife and three daughters.

Norman Waitt Jr., a 1986 Morningside graduate and a former member of the Morningside University Board of Directors, established the Waitt Lecture Series at Morningside University in 1997. He saw it as an opportunity to bring the world to Morningside University students and the community through appearances by nationally and internationally known leaders in business, politics, economics, history and the media. Recent lecturers have included author and politician J.D. Vance, journalist Bob Woodward, presidential historian Doris Kearns Goodwin, economist/humorist Ben Stein, and documentary filmmaker Ken Burns.