In Memoriam: Dr. Stanley “Stan” Willets Chapman
Published on Monday, December 23, 2024
The Medical Center extends its sympathy to the family of a former faculty member in appreciation for the loved one’s contributions to the academic health sciences center.
Dr. Stanley “Stan” Willets Chapman
Dr. Stanley “Stan” Willets Chapman of Jackson, professor emeritus of infectious diseases at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, a physician, researcher, teacher and mentor whose influence and renown extended well beyond the institution he served for three decades, died on Nov. 20, 2024; he was 78.
The son of a physician and an anesthesiology nurse, Chapman grew up with his younger brother in upstate New York and would stay true to that region’s accent, to the edification and delight of his colleagues in Mississippi. After excelling as an athlete and musician in high school, he attended Colgate University and graduated cum laude.
At the University of Rochester in New York, Chapman earned his medical degree, graduating in 1972 with distinction. He completed his residency in internal medicine at Emory University in Atlanta.
He earned a fellowship at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, and an infectious disease fellowship at the University of Rochester. In September 1979, he joined the faculty of the UMMC School of Medicine after moving his family to Jackson.
“The word that easily comes to mind thinking of Dr. Chapman is ‘intellect,’” said Dr. Dan Jones, who would later serve as UMMC vice chancellor and dean of the School of Medicine before becoming chancellor of the University of Mississippi for six years.
“I recall consulting him on difficult cases. Identifying the correct cause of infection and the correct antibiotic were mysteries to the rest of us, but Stan could cut through the complexity and offer the clear and correct recommendations,” said Jones, a physician who joined the UMMC faculty in 1992 and contributed to research related to hypertension and other cardiovascular risk factors.
“Stan was also fun to be around. He wore the differentness of his accent and personality as charm. He made us a better place.”
Chapman’s leadership positions at the Medical Center included vice chair for clinical operations and academic affairs, and associate vice chancellor for research integrity. Board-certified in internal medicine, allergy immunology and infectious disease, he became director of the UMMC Division of Infectious Diseases in 1988.
“As a fellow in the Division of Infectious Diseases and later as a faculty member, I was most fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with Dr. Chapman,” said Dr. Helen Turner, who would become UMMC’s first associate vice chancellor for academic affairs and the first woman to be named associate dean for academic affairs in the School of Medicine.
“He was a wonderful mentor, teacher and friend. Stanley was a talented clinician and researcher. Because of his extensive clinical and research experience, he was considered a world expert on fungal diseases, especially blastomycosis, which he wrote about extensively.
“He was also a generous and kind teacher to medical students, residents and fellows, always willing to share his time and expertise with trainees.
“I will always be grateful for the time I worked with Dr. Chapman and the opportunities he gave me early in my career.”
Chapman’s curriculum vitae, last updated in mid-2003, years before he retired, lists 44 research studies supported by grants and other funding, 69 scientific publications and 93 abstracts which were presented at national or regional meetings. He was also co-editor of the textbook, A Practical Approach to Infectious Diseases.
Chapman served as division director until his retirement in early 2009, when he was named professor emeritus.
Over the years, he emerged as a leader at other institutions, including the G.V. (Sonny) Montgomery Veterans Affairs Medical Center, serving there as chief of medical services.
After 25 years of providing health care to veterans, he retired from the VA in 2004, the year he also retired as a brigadier general from the Mississippi Air National Guard. His command positions with the Guard included chief of aerospace medicine. For the 172nd Airlift Wing, he put in place an anthrax immunization program. For eight years, he also served as State Air Surgeon.
A few years after his retirement from UMMC, the Medical Center created what is now known as the Stanley Chapman Young Investigator Research Excellence Award to acknowledge each recipient’s potential as a physician-scientist. In 2015, Dr. Michael Hall became the first awardee.
“Dr. Chapman had a major impact on the Department of Medicine and the Division of Infectious Diseases over nearly three decades,” said Hall, professor and chair of medicine at UMMC.
“Through his many roles and as a close colleague and mentor to so many people here at UMMC, his legacy of excellence across the missions in medicine will endure.”
The prestigious American Clinical and Climatological Association also saw fit to honor Chapman, electing him as a member.
Chapman also enjoyed the affection and approbation of his family, including the third of his four children, Dr. Catie Carlyle Zimmerman of Jackson, UMMC assistant professor of orthopaedic surgery.
“I wanted to be a doctor because my dad was a doctor,” said Zimmerman, who graduated from the UMMC School of Medicine in 2007 and completed her pediatric residency at the Medical Center in 2010.
“I knew he was something special by his accolades and the way others would speak of him; but to see it in a professional setting was special – not many children get to experience their parent in this way.
“I was so happy our time at UMMC overlapped. I was able to witness his greatness as a physician and teacher.”
Chapman was also known for his appreciation of the arts, and his enthusiasm extended to the drawings his children created as they were growing up; he proudly filled his office with them, hanging them alongside his family photos.
“Stanley dearly loved his family and often brought some of his children to work with him so they could see what their father did every day,” Turner said.
Chapman was also devoted to sports, his monthly supper club, music, dancing and his friends.
He was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease more than a decade ago. In the words of a tribute written by his family, he faced his final years “courageously with hope, grace, and love, becoming an inspiration to all.”
Chapman is also survived by his wife of 51 years, Stephanie Bourgeois, and his other children: Stanley D. Chapman of Houston, Texas; Courtenay Marie Middleton of Santa Fe, New Mexico; and Dr. John Charles “Jac” Chapman of Lafayette, Louisiana, who also graduated from the UMMC School of Medicine. He is also survived by his brother John Chapman of Bath, New York, and six grandchildren.