Dr. Gregory Herman

2011 Recipient of the Academic Hall of Fame

Dr. Gregory Herman, Muncy High School Class of 1980 became the most recent inductee into the Muncy High School Academic Hall of Fame on June 10, 2011. Dr. Herman is the 18th inductee into the Academic Hall of Fame.

Dr. Herman, the son of Edward and Sylvia Herman, graduated from Muncy High School as the valedictorian of the class of 1980. Greg participated in basketball, tennis, and was a member of the National Honor Society. After high school, Greg attended the University of Notre Dame on a military scholarship. After graduation at South Bend, Gregory attended and graduated from Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia, completing his residency at Silas B. Hayes Army Community Hospital. Dr. Herman began his medical career while in the military. He served as a family physician at military hospitals in Monterey, California, Heidelberg, Germany, and West Point, New York. Dr. Herman achieved the rank of major during his ten years of active duty military service and was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal.

In 1998, Dr.Herman took a position at the Underwood Memorial Hospital in Woodbury, New Jersey. Dr. Herman became the director of the residency program at Underwood in 2004 and the program has blossomed ever since. In 2009, the New Jersey Academy of Family Physicians awarded Dr. Herman their Family Physician of the Year Award. This award is presented to one outstanding physician in the state of New Jersey, who best represents the tradition of a family physician. In keeping with the tradition of family medicine, Dr. Herman and his wife Meg, are raising their children; Katie, Sara, Erin, and Adam in the community in which he works. Dr. Herman is truly embedded in his community serving as a team physician for a local high school, an active member of the Knights of Columbus, and a youth baseball, soccer and basketball coach. Greg is an active member of his church, participating as a scripture reader and couples counselor, with his wife, Meg.

Dr. Herman was recently awarded the Dean’s Award for Excellence in Education at Jefferson Medical College. This award was intended to recognize faculty who have provided outstanding and sustained contributions to the education of Jefferson medical students.

Dr. Herman’s accomplishments and contributions are quite impressive but not as impressive as the contributions he has made to his family and community. Of all the literature and information received on Dr. Herman the piece that stuck out to the induction committee the most was his commitment to his family. Despite Dr. Herman’s impressive resume and accomplishments the committee found that Dr. Herman has played a little bit of “hooky” during his career. In Dr. Herman’s case his “hooky” did not get him the scorn of his principal but rather the praise of his supervisor. In Dr. Herman’s letter of recommendation for the New Jersey Physician of the Year the committee read how his supervisor had to cover for him one day at work due to a last minute schedule change. His supervisor gladly covered his rounds at the hospital for him due to his outstanding work ethic and she immediately became concerned that the unusual request did not harbor bad news in his personal life. She was very happy to receive a rather sheepish call from Dr. Herman later in the day admitting to her that Dr. Herman’s son, Adam, had begged him to go to the Philadelphia Phillies World Series Victory parade. Dr. Herman’s supervisor admired his sense of responsibility to his patients being balanced by the opportunity to make a once in a lifetime memory for his son. Dr. Herman is a true family physician. This native son of Muncy has truly earned induction into the Muncy High School Academic Hall of Fame.