Dr. Richard L. Cruess, O.C., O.Q.

Dr. Richard L. Cruess, Dean of the McGill University Faculty of Medicine from 1981-1995, is currently Professor of Surgery at McGill's Centre for Medical Education. He completed his M.D in 1955 at Columbia University and served with the Medical Corps of the U.S. Naval Reserve between 1957 and 1959. Dr. Cruess was intern, then resident and then Orthopedic Surgeon in Charge at the Royal Victoria Hospital and was also Chairman of the Division of Orthopedic Surgery at McGill. From 1979 to 1981, he was the Assistant Surgeon-in-Chief. From 1970 to 1982, he was also the Surgeon-in-Chief at the Montreal Shriners Hospital.

Dr. Cruess has been a visiting lecturer at various institutions across Canada, the U.S.A., Australia and Scotland. Among the many prestigious awards he has received is the Steindler Award from the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. He was also made Knight Commander of Merit by the Sovereign Military Order of St-John of Jerusalem in 1984 and, in 1986, was named Chevalier de la Tastevin, Clos de Vougeot, in Bourgogne, France.

In 1985, Dr. Cruess was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. In 1995, he was named a Member of the Order of Canada and was promoted to Officer in 1999. In 2003, he was made an Officer of the National Order of Quebec. In 2004, he received an honorary degree from Université Laval.