The Atis K. Freimanis Visiting Professor Program is one of the Department of Radiology’s important contributions to the land grant and public service mission of Michigan State University.  It is widely recognized among leaders in academic radiology as one of the most extensive and successful programs of its kind.  Since its beginning in the 1975-76 academic year, the Program has brought more than 350 distinguished scholars in the field of radiology and medicine to the MSU Campus.  The Visiting Professor Program provides a high quality, locally accessible source of continuing medical education credit for community radiologists and the opportunity to meet and interact with radiology leaders on a personal level.  The Program also facilitates the vital link between the University and the communities that it serves, in addition to strengthening MSU’s community-based radiology residency programs.

Atis K. Freimanis, M.D. was born in Riga, Latvia in 1925.  He earned his M.D. degree at the University of Hamburg, Germany and interned at Bellevue Hospital in New York City.  Ohio State University Hospital in Columbus, Ohio was the setting for his diagnostic radiology residency and subsequent professional career.  He served as Professor and Chairman of Radiology at Ohio State University and the Medical College of Ohio at Toledo before coming to Michigan State University as a Professor of Radiology from 1983 to 1993.  Dr. Freimanis’ distinguished record as a clinical radiologist and researcher led to his success as a recognized leader in diagnostic ultrasound.  He has been honored repeatedly for teaching excellence, and a remarkable ability to organize and communicate knowledge.  He is an exemplar of life-long scholarship, promoting the importance and delight of continual inquiry both inside and outside the classroom.