August 2008 – Earl Bakken receives an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters Degree from the University of Missouri, St. Louis

On Aug. 2, Earl E. Bakken received an HONONARY DOCTOR OF HUMANE LETTERS DEGREE from the University of Missouri-St. Louis during a commencement ceremony before a cheering audience of more than 1,200 people.

Julie Sebastian, dean of the College of Nursing at UMSL, said the university was delighted to present the honorary doctorate to Bakken.

"As nurses, we are dedicated to comprehensive, holistic health care and a better quality of life for all," Sebastian said. "We are privileged to have had the opportunity to learn more about Mr. Bakken's creativity, leadership, vision and dedication to the best health for all."

Fascinated from childhood with all things related to electricity, Bakken, along with his brother-in-law, started a medical equipment repair company in a garage in 1949. Bakken turned that fascination into a vision that knew no bounds. Today, Medtronics, Inc. is the world’s leading medical technology firm. And Bakken’s generous spirit continues to advance bio-medical engineering today.

He developed the first wearable, external, battery-powered, transistorized heart pacemaker in 1957 for Dr. C. Walton Lillehei, a Minnesota physician known as "the father of open-heart surgery." The company grew to provide the medical community with defibrillators, implantable insulin pumps, brain and muscle simulators, balloons, stents, valves and much more.

During his retirement Bakken was given the challenge of improving the health of the 30,000 people of Northwest Hawaii. He helped establish Tutu’s house, a community health and wellness center, which has grown into several such centers on the big island of Hawaii.

His gifts to medicine as an inventor, entrepreneur and humanitarian have earned him numerous awards including an honorary medical degree from the University of Minnesota, and the 2007 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Cardiovascular Institute of the South.

Sebastian praised Bakken for his contributions to the field of biotechnology, which she said transformed countless lives.

"In this era of interprofessional collaboration, Mr. Bakken's career exemplifies ways to build and sustain successful working relationships between scientists, clinicians, engineers, managers and others in ways that improve health and contribute to quality of live," she said. "His support of integrative health initiatives and community health and wellness continues his lifelong efforts to create a healthier world."

With more than 15,000 students, the University of Missouri-St. Louis is the largest university in the area and the third largest in Missouri. It offers 54 undergraduate degree programs, 34 master's degree programs, 15 doctoral degree programs and the state's only professional degree in optometry. UMSL was founded in 1963.