i STANFORD UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER
Fy STANFORD, CALIFORNIA 94305 « (415) 321-1200

 

STANFORD UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE
Depariment of Genetics

Goshua Ledeberg mere

Dear Carl

Recommendations for Syntex Board

Mary Elien Avery is certainly among the leaders of academic medicine

in America, and it might be difficult to find a single other woman who
would match her credentials and reputation. She was a leading contender

in our own search for a new Head of Pediatrics; but she herself insisted

on her unavailability (she still had too much to do at McGill) -- but was
nevertheless very helpful in reviewing other candidates. I personally met
her only on this one occasion (she was en route to e meeting at Carmel-- and
will probably be doing the same again next month) but this interview fully
confirmed her universal reputation, which is of an outstanding person in res-
pect to research, academic commitment, administration and human relations. |
She appears to be an extremely forthright person, and if there are any con-
ceivable obstazles to an effective relationship, which I do not foresee,

she will make them visible within a few minutes conversation.

As you will note from the resume, she is now head of Pediatrics at
McGill, where she still continues research on neonatal physiology whileb
running a complicated and excellent clinical service.

Pediatrics, Psychiatry and Gynecology are the fields where one might
expect talented women to have reaclred high visibility. I know that the Medi-
cine search committee found no woman to whom they would give serious consi-
deration; and while the criteria are not the same, they do have something
in common. a

Another credible selection among women pediatricians would have been
Audrey Brown, whose reputation is excellent, but not exuberant as Avery's is.

I have no personal acquaintance with her, but include the c.v. from my files.

You should give very serious consideration to Betty Hamburg. She has
been somewhat slighted in academic recognition because she has only recently
retired from motherhood enough to put full time into academic and research
work. However, she has a reputation among clinicians that puts her in the top
cadre of child psychiatrists -- letters from Yale and Harvard showed no hesi-
tation in her qualifying for professorships; her current research, mainly on
problems of adolescence is very well regarded. And I have known her well for
Many years and have the utmost respect for her commonsense, shrewdness, and
intuition for anticipating trouble in human situations that alone would already
qualify her very well for a role as a "public' member of a corporation Board.
You will notice substantial related experience in her resume. ,

All in all, I think that Mary Avery would be the first choice for this
~ particular role, especially if you give great weight to her general reputation
in medicine. As a working member, Betty would also excel, and should be a

close second, Se

LT. J. P. KENNEDY, JR. LABORATORIES FOR MOLECULAR MEDICINE, DEDICATED TO RESEARCH IN MENTAL ARDATION

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