Southwestern Magazine | Spring 2021

2 6 | SOUTHWE S T E RN DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI AWARDS 2020–2021 During the 2021 Charter Day celebration, the Southwestern University Alumni Association honored the following members of the Southwestern community who exemplify the core values of the University and the mission of the association. Medal of Honor: Timothy Bolton Boone ’77 Timothy Bolton Boone is the chair of the Department of Urology at Houston Methodist Hospital and director of education at the Houston Methodist Institute for Academic Medicine. He also is a professor of urology and associate dean at Weill Cornell Medicine and the Texas A&M University College of Medicine Houston campus, as well as a clinical professor of urology at Baylor College of Medicine. After graduating from Southwestern with a bachelor’s degree in biology, Boone earned his master’s degree and doctorate from the University of Texas Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at Houston. He received his medical degree from the University of Texas Medical School at Houston. A practicing urologist, Boone specializes in the treatment of patients with problems associated with neurologic issues arising from spinal-cord injury, stroke, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, and other diseases. Distinguished Professional: Jason Embry ’98 Jason Embry is cofounder of New West Communications, a stra- tegic communications firm based in Austin. After graduating from Southwestern with a double major in communication and polit- ical science, Embry worked briefly for two small newspapers before joining the Austin American-Statesman . He began covering politics and moved to the nation’s capital to become the newspa- per’s Washington correspondent. When the newspaper closed its Washington bureau in 2008, Embry returned to Austin and became chief political correspondent. He was named Capitol bureau chief in 2011. In 2012, Embry left journalism to join the staff of Joe Straus, then-speaker of the Texas House of Representatives. He served first as press secretary and later as communications director, developing and implementing communications strategies and serving as chief spokesman and speechwriter. At New West, Embry helps clients achieve their goals through compre- hensive messaging and communications strategies.