Pulse • fall 20 16
Financial aid and education
HMS trailblazer gives boost to future students In 1847, at age 42, Harriot Hunt applied to HMS, becoming the first woman to apply to any Harvard school. She was denied admission twice, and it would be nearly 100 years before HMS accepted its first female enrollees. Ladislas Dolores Wojcik, MD ’49, was among those enrollees—a group of 12 women admitted in 1945. After earning her medical degree, Wojcik eventually moved to Marion, Indiana, and served the community for nearly 40 years as a beloved pediatrician. Known to put lollipops on the end of the wooden tongue depressors she used, Wojcik was admired by friends and colleagues for her dedication to her young patients. She also remained dedicated to her alma mater, providing scholarship support and flexible, unrestricted gifts to HMS for decades. Additionally, she served as a class agent, volunteering to lead the fundraising efforts of the Class of 1949. Though Wojcik died nearly 30 years ago, her legacy continues today with a $140,000 distribution from a charitable remainder unitrust she established to create the endowed Ladislas Wojcik Financial Aid Fund. “Gifts like these are fundamental to the future of medical education, allowing Harvard Medical School to continue to attract exceptional students who
might not otherwise be able to afford to come here,” says Sara Fazio, MD, advisory dean and director of the Walter Bradford Cannon Society at HMS and a professor of medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. “Moreover, these generous gifts allow recipients to pursue their individual passions unfettered by a need to repay an insurmountable debt. The ability to attract talented individuals, often from underrepresented backgrounds, enhances our capacity to train a diverse population of physicians to serve our diverse communities.
Ladislas Dolores Wojcik (front left) joins fellow female members of the Class of 1949 on the HMS Quad. Image: Center for the History of Medicine at Countway Library
“Dr. Wojcik was a true trailblazer; her legacy offers HMS students an opportunity to be pioneers in their own career paths as well.”
“Gifts like these are fundamental to the future of medical education, allowing Harvard Medical School to continue to attract exceptional students who might not otherwise be able to afford to come here.” Sara Fazio
Alumni Council welcomes 6 new members This past spring, Harvard Medical School graduates cast their votes in the annual Alumni Council election, choosing a president-elect and five new councilors. Representing the First, Fourth, Seventh, and Eighth pentads, respectively, are new councilors Numa Pompilio Perez Jr., MD ’15, a general surgery resident at Massachusetts General Hospital; Coleen S. Sabatini, MD ’04 (Class of 2003), MPH ’04, a pediatric orthopedic surgeon at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF); David E. Cohen, AB ’82, MD ’86, PhD ’87, chief of the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology and the Vincent Astor Distinguished Professor of Medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College; and Margaret A. Liu, MD ’81, CEO of PAX Therapeutics and a foreign adjunct
professor at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, as well as an adjunct full professor at UCSF. Douglas H. L. Chin, AB ’88, MD ’94 (Class of 1993), MMSc ’94, a plastic and reconstructive surgeon at Nasarem Healthcare, was elected councilor-at-large, and Kenneth R. Bridges, MD ’76, a vice president at Global Blood Therapeutics, was chosen as president-elect. Bridges will serve in that role for one year before becoming president for two years. The Alumni Council promotes and supports activities that connect alumni to each other, the School, and current students. Its members, who are elected to three-year terms, serve in a consultative and advisory role to the dean of HMS.
Learn more about the newest members of the Alumni Council at alumni.hms.harvard.edu/election.
From left to right: Kenneth R. Bridges, Douglas H. L. Chin, Numa Pompilio Perez Jr., Margaret A. Liu, David E. Cohen, and Coleen S. Sabatini