[View ALL News Press Releases] Dr. Richard M. Briggs, a West Point, Ky. native and 1973 graduate of Elizabethtown Community College, has been selected to receive a 2009 Outstanding Alumni Award from the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC). Briggs, a cardiothoracic surgeon in Knoxville, Tenn. and a colonel in the Medical Corps of the U.S. Army Reserve, will be among five outstanding community college graduates to receive the annual award April 6 at AACC's Annual Convention in Phoenix. The award is given to former community college students who make outstanding contributions in their chosen career field and to their communities. Briggs, who was honored last year as one of Elizabethtown Community and Technical College's (ECTC) Distinguished Alumni, was nominated for national recognition by ECTC President/CEO Dr. Thelma J. White. "Dr. Richard Briggs' life and career personifies the quality found among the nation's most outstanding community and technical college graduates," Dr. White said. "His dedication and service to his profession and our country have been exemplary, and we are delighted that he has been selected to receive this prestigious national award." After graduating from ECC, Briggs earned a bachelor's degree from Transylvania University and graduated at the top of his medical class with honors from the University of Kentucky. With Dr. William DeVries, the American surgeon who performed the first heart surgery with the Jarvik-7 artificial heart, Briggs helped pioneer innovative treatments for critically-ill heart patients. An advocate for quality education at all levels, he has taught and mentored future physicians at four postsecondary institutions. "The Kentucky Community and Technical College System is honored that the AACC has selected Dr. Briggs to receive this national award," said KCTCS President Michael B. McCall. "Dr. Briggs is an example of the quality of students our system continues to educate and prepare for challenging, successful careers...both at home and abroad." As an officer and physician in the Medical Corps of the U.S. Army Reserve, Briggs has treated hundreds of American soldiers, as well as scores of Iraqi and Afghan civilians, including many children, during numerous active duty deployments on foreign soil. The Los Angeles Times reported on his efforts to save a critically injured Army sergeant at Ibn Sina Hospital in Baghdad's Green Zone. While serving in Afghanistan, CNN featured him in a story about saving the life of a 12-year old boy. Professional journals chronicled his efforts to treat a young Iraqi girl who suffered burns over 50 percent of her body. Briggs and his medical team are credited with helping save the lives of critically injured ABC News co-anchor Bob Woodruff and his cameraman, Doug Vogt, who were injured in a 2006 explosion of a roadside improvised explosive device near Baghdad. His skills as a surgeon, and his humanitarian work at home and abroad, have brought regional, national and international recognition: A Bronze Star Medal, President's Award for Outstanding Physician from the Knoxville Academy of Medicine, Hero of the Year Award from the Tennessee Hospital Association, among many others. Briggs currently is in private practice with East Tennessee Cardiovascular Surgery Group in Knoxville. There, he continues to find ways to give back to his community, volunteering with several local health care agencies, providing philanthropic leadership, and serving on numerous local and state boards and commissions, many in leadership positions. The American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) is the primary advocacy organization for the nation's community colleges. The association represents almost 1,200 two-year, associate degree-granting institutions and more than 11 million students. Dr. McCall, KCTCS founding president, was the first system level president to serve as AACC Board Chair. Elizabethtown Community and Technical College, a member of the Kentucky Community and Technical College System, is a public, comprehensive learning community serving 12 counties in north central Kentucky.