DUARTE, Calif., June 4, 2008 – Health care executive Norman Payson, M.D., will receive an honorary doctorate degree from City of Hope’s Graduate School of Biological Sciences at its 10th annual commencment on Friday, June 6, at 4 p.m.
“Dr. Payson is an accomplished leader in the health care industry and a loyal supporter of the graduate school,” said John J. Rossi, Ph.D., Lidow Family Research Chair and dean of the Graduate School of Biological Sciences. “We are delighted to present him with our school’s highest honorary award, the Doctor of Science, in recognition of his ongoing contributions to our mission.”
Payson serves on City of Hope’s national board of directors and was chairman and chief executive officer of Oxford Health Plans Inc., a leading provider of health benefit plans. From 1998 when he joined Oxford as chief executive officer (CEO) until his retirement in 2002, Payson led the company through a financial revitalization and transformation into one of the most successful health plans in the nation. Prior to joining Oxford, Payson was co-founder and CEO of Healthsource Inc., from its inception in 1985 until its sale to CIGNA Corporation in 1997. During his tenure, Healthsource became one of the nation’s largest health plan companies, operating in 15 states with more than 3 million members. Before helping to establish Healthsource, Payson was the CEO of a 120-member physician group with more than 100,000 health plan members.
“The graduate school at City of Hope has an outstanding faculty and an environment that fosters learning and discovery. The institution is developing the next generation of bright and talented researchers,” Payson said, “I am honored to receive this degree.”
City of Hope Graduate School of Biological Sciences is a fully accredited program that trains students in the fields of chemical, molecular and cellular biology as well as bioinformatics and genetics. Graduates of the program are awarded the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in biological sciences.
Past recipients of the honorary Doctor of Science degree include Michael Kaplan, co-partner of real estate management firm ARKA Properties Group; Richard S. Ziman, chairman and chief executive officer of West Los Angeles-based real estate investment firm Arden Realty Inc.; and Meyer E. Hersch, founder and general partner of Hersch and Company, which produces social interactive board and electronic games.
Students earning Ph.D. degrees in biological sciences in 2008 are: Valerie Chavez, Seung-Gi Jin, Daniel Kim, Damon Meyer and Chen Wu.