College of Medicine dean and clinical assistant professor honored with Association of Former Students Distinguished Achievement Awards

Amy Waer ’23, MD, the Jean and Tom McMullin Endowed Dean of the Texas A&M University College of Medicine, and Robert Milman ’86, MD, clinical assistant professor and associate head of the college’s Department of Medical Education, are among the 24 recipients of the 2025 Distinguished Achievement Awards.

The award, given annually since 1955 by Texas A&M and The Association of Former Students, recognizes the university’s faculty and staff for “commitment, performance and positive impact.” 

Dean Amy Waer

Waer, a noted surgeon, scholar and academic leader, is one of two to be recognized in the administration category. She was named dean of the College of Medicine in 2021 after serving as vice dean of education and academic programs for nearly three years and has served as a clinical professor in primary care and rural medicine since 2018.

Waer has overseen growth in the key areas of external research funding, student enrollment, medical school campuses, graduate medical education programs, graduate student programs and clinical practice.

Under her leadership, the college has climbed in the national rankings and in 2025 was elevated by U.S. News & World Report to a Tier 1 institution in primary care and to Tier 2 overall, making it among the state’s best public medical schools. In 2024 the college received its largest gift to date, from entrepreneur Naresh K. Vashisht ’72, for whom the college has been named.

One nominator deemed Waer a “transformational leader,” noting the intensive self-study process she led in her previous role to identify and remedy gaps identified throughout the college, her advocacy with the Texas Legislature and tireless efforts to establish a college affiliation in all of the state’s 254 counties, among other achievements.

Another cited Waer’s cultural transformation within the college through ongoing communication via town halls, monthly meetings with leadership and monthly lunches with small groups of students, faculty and staff, which have created an “attitude of trust which allows her to advance forward with various organizational changes.”

Robert Milman

Milman is one of 10 recipients in the teaching category. A 1986 graduate of the Texas A&M College of Medicine, he joined his alma mater’s faculty part-time in 2013 and full-time in 2016 after working more than 25 years at the private radiology practice he founded in Austin. His contributions as a passionate and inspiring educator have been widely acknowledged, including with this same award in 2022.

He is known for working with medical students, physicians and other medical professionals to generate effective health communication that instills future Aggie doctors with mastery of the complex skills required as well as the joy of improving lives through the practice of medicine.

Since 2017, he has overseen and taught the practice of medicine courses for semesters four and five and developed an elective course on interprofessional social and ethical dilemmas for semester six. He also co-teaches the radiology clerkship for 120 students per year and lectures on radiology in various specializations in the college, as well as through the health system science track.

At the national level, Milman has delivered approximately 50 lectures as part of the continuing medical education that the American Medical Association requires for practicing physicians and since 2017 has served as course director for the association’s national Physician Leadership Development Initiative.

In the classroom, Milman is known for putting students in small, highly interactive groups to discuss various scenarios and for constantly questioning his students to test their knowledge of the subject and how they would respond to similar questions from patients.

As one nominator noted, Milman thinks “waaaay outside the box” to help students master the subject matter and learn to think on their feet. For this, he not only received advanced academic training but also developed a long-term collaboration with a leading applied improvisation educator in Austin to develop interactive workshops using improv skills and techniques.

He also is renowned for his mentoring of individual students. This includes helping fourth-year students craft personal statements and holding mock interviews for their residency search. He also makes himself available to these students via Zoom in the evening, on weekends and during the week.

As one nominator noted, if there were another synonym for caring, “it would be Rob. Every time a student has an issue, Rob is there to help them.”

Waer and Milman received a monetary gift, an engraved watch and a commemorative certificate at the Faculty Affairs Spring Awards Ceremony on April 25.