A. Stuart Hanson D’59, MED’60 

Pulmonary Medicine and Critical Care Physician, retired

President, Behavior at Work Collaborative

 

 

 

As a pulmonary medicine and critical care physician from 1971 to 2012, Stuart Hanson dedicated his career to patient care, smoking reduction, and improving working conditions in healthcare. Now retired from clinical care, Stu has served since 2010 as president of the nonprofit Behavior at Work Collaborative, which focuses on creating abuse-free work environments. 

Dr. Hanson served in many leadership positions over his four decades as a practicing pulmonologist, including as past president of the Minnesota Medical Association (MMA), past president and board chair of the Twin Cities Medical Society, and Minnesota delegation chair to the American Medical Association House of Delegates. From 1986 to 2002, he was president and CEO of Park Nicollet Institute for Research and Education in Minnesota, leading much of the organization’s growth during that time. As a leader in smoking-cessation campaigns, Stu was past president and board chair of Smoke-Free Generation Minnesota, and he was the founding president and board chair of the Minnesota Coalition for a Smoke-Free Society. He also served as vice chair of the Minnesota Partnership for Action Against Tobacco. He helped lead the development of cost-effective healthcare in Minnesota as a member of the board of governors of the Twin Cities Community Program for Affordable Healthcare.

Improving medical workplace culture has also been an important part of Dr. Hanson’s career. As an agent of change, he served as a member of the Minnesota Governor’s Task Force on Violence as a Public Health Problem and as a member of the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, Chemical Abuse, and Violence Prevention Council. 

Stu received the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award in 2021 from the Marquis Who’s Who Publishing Company. Park Nicollet Institute for Research and Education named him Educator of the Year in 2002. He received the Distinguished Service Award from the MMA, the Earl Young Physician of Excellence Award from Park Nicollet Health Services, a Lifetime Achievement Award from the University of Minnesota Medical School Alumni Society, and the Commissioner’s Award from the Minnesota Department of Health, among many other honors. 

Dr. Hanson is the author of 30 papers on pulmonology, healthcare violence, health reform, tobacco control, and other topics, as well as three books, the most recent of which is “A Senior's Guide for Living Well, and Dying Well.” 

Stu earned his undergraduate degree from Dartmouth College in 1959 and pursued his medical degrees at Dartmouth Medical School and the University of Minnesota Medical School. He has been a loyal member of Geisel’s alumni community, supporting the organization with both service and financial gifts and working to increase scholarship support to Geisel medical students. He has also worked with University of Minnesota Foundation in an effort to provide scholarship aid to medical students at the University of Minnesota.

 

Return to Alumni Awards Homepage