The American College of Cardiology this week announced that William D. Nelligan, III, CAE, FACC, passed away July 23 in Rockville, Md. Nelligan was a longtime leader of the ACC and was affiliated with the College for nearly three decades.
According to the ACC, Nelligan, who joined the organization as executive director in 1965, played “pivotal roles” in both the College’s move from New York to Washington, D.C., and the creation and expansion of the ACC’s former Heart house in Bethesda, Md. He served as executive director and CEO for 27 years.
In a tribute to Nelligan on his 25th anniversary with the ACC, then-President William Winters Jr., MD, acknowledged how much the College had grown under the leadership of Nelligan—from a 2,000-member organization with four administrative staffers and an annual budget of $80,000 to an 18,000-member organization with 100 staff and a “much bigger” budget.
“In word and deed, [Nelligan] has elevated himself and the College to a lofty level in the worldwide cardiovascular community,” Winters said at the time.
Nelligan was awarded the ACC Presidential Citation in 1975 and eventually retired from the organization in 1992.
“Bill Nelligan greatly valued both the members and the mission of the ACC, and in so many ways contributed to the very foundation on which the College continues to build for the future,” current ACC President Richard J. Kovacs, MD, said in a statement. “He will be greatly missed, but his legacy will continue to live on as we push toward achieving a world where innovation and knowledge optimize cardiovascular care and outcomes.”
After graduating from Indiana University-Bloomington with a bachelor’s in journalism, Anicka joined TriMed’s Chicago team in 2017 covering cardiology. Close to her heart is long-form journalism, Pilot G-2 pens, dark chocolate and her dog Harper Lee.