William R. Flinn, MD
#17: 1993-1994
William Rogers Flinn was born in rural Redwood Falls, Minnesota. Delivered by his grandfather, Dr. Tom Flinn, assisted by a cousin, Dr. Jim Flinn, Will’s contact with the medical profession seemed established almost from his first breath. However, the pastoral existence could not hold him and the bright city lights drew him to Chicago, where he spent most of his boyhood. In the Minnesotan tradition of Fitzgerald, he went in search of true wisdom to the Ivy League, where he received his Baccalaureate from Brown University in 1969. Unconvinced, he returned to the Midwest and Chicago, where he received his M.D. from Northwestern University, forging a professional relationship which would last nearly a quarter of a century.
Young Dr. Flinn completed his General Surgery training at Northwestern University Medical Center. He continued on at Northwestern in the Vascular Surgery fellowship under the direction of Dr. John J. Bergan and Dr. James S. T. Yao, both founding members and past-Presidents of the Midwestern Surgical Society.
After training he joined the faculty of Northwestern University Medical School, where he rose to the rank of Associate Professor. He also played a pivotal role in the evolution of vascular surgical services at Columbus Hospital in Chicago, where he founded the Center for Vascular Disease in 1989.
Dr. Flinn has published numerous articles in journals and chapters in books, but he is most proud of his participation in the Northwestern Vascular Fellowship Program, where he assisted in the training of over 25 vascular residents from the U.S. as well as eight foreign countries.
Dr. Flinn has three sons and, thus, is required to love all sports, but he likes tennis best because, for the time being, he can still beat all three of them. He has refused to give up being a diehard Cubs fan no matter how much his sons taunt him. He also likes rag-top cars with standard transmissions, classic rock music, and late-August mornings on a screened porch in Lake Geneva.
