Joseph J. Ceithaml, SB’37, PhD’41, 1916-2013 oseph J. Ceithaml, SB ’37, PhD’41, revered dean of students whose advocacy and mentorship influenced countless students at the University of Chicago and throughout the country, died on May 11, 2013. He was 96. As Dean of Students Emeritus for the Pritzker School of Medicine and the Biological Sciences Division from 1951 to 1986, Ceithaml was a central figure in shaping the character of medical and biological education at the University of Chicago. He was instrumental in building the medical school’s national reputation, attracting many of the nation’s best and most well-rounded students to the program and making Pritzker more accessible to students from less privileged backgrounds. “Dean Ceithaml made it possible for thousands of students to develop into outstanding doctors and scientists, and he was firmly committed to ensuring that students received financial aid,” said Holly J. Humphrey, MD’83, the Ralph W. Gerard Professor in Medicine and dean for medical education at Pritzker. “He was a kind and Joseph J. Ceithaml, circa 1949 generous man who placed student well-being at the top of his priority list.” During his 35 years as dean, Ceithaml, professor emeritus of biochemistry and molecular biology at the University of Chicago, shepherded the academic careers of 2,914 future physicians and 1,460 research biologists. He developed the Medical Scientist Training Program, obtaining federal funding in 1967 for what would become one of the leading programs in the country. He was an architect of Pritzker’s pass/fail system, designed to promote collaborative learning. He grew the medical school’s no-interest loan fund program from $25,000 in 1951 to more than $6 million in 1986. The Ceithaml Scholarship, named in his honor, funds the medical education of many students each year and continues to expand. Ceithaml was influential at the national level in efforts to expand the pool of applicants for medical schools. He fought the idea that the standard biologybased “pre-med” curriculum was a prerequisite and sought students with diverse interests, origins and socio-economic backgrounds. He also helped develop the centralized American Medical College Application Service through the Association of American Medical Colleges. Born in 1916, into a family of Czechoslovakian immigrants on the Southwest Side of Chicago, Ceithaml graduated from Lindblom High School as valedictorian. After graduating from the University of Chicago in 1937, he entered the biochemistry doctoral program. He completed his PhD in 1941 and married Ann Bednarik, a high school friend, the next year. During World War II, Ceithaml worked on a malaria research project based at the University of Chicago and run by the Office of Scientific Research and Development of the U.S. War Manpower Commission. In 1946, he was named an assistant professor of biochemistry at the University of Chicago. He also worked part time as a pre-med adviser. In 1948, he and his wife left Chicago for a post-doctoral fellowship at California Institute of Technology, where he worked with geneticist George Beadle — who would win the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in
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PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE CEITHAML FAMILY
Joseph J. Ceithaml, SB’37, PhD’41, shepherded the academic careers of 2,914 future physicians and 1,460 research biologists at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine and Biological Sciences Division. He always preferred to be called dean for students, and their well-being was his top priority.
“He was a staunch advocate for the collaborative, collegial spirit that still encompasses our medical school today.” Holly J. Humphrey, MD’83, the Ralph W. Gerard Professor in Medicine and dean for medical education, Pritzker School of Medicine
1958 and become president of the University of Chicago in 1961. After completing his fellowship, Ceithaml returned to the University of Chicago. In 1950, he won the University’s Quantrell Award, the highest honor bestowed upon undergraduate teachers. The following year, he was named dean of students for medicine and biological sciences. He retired in 1986 at age 70. Ceithaml received several career honors but was particularly proud of the 1982 Gold Key Award,
which recognizes outstanding and loyal service to the Biological Sciences Division and to the University of Chicago, and for having the medical student and alumni center named for him, just before he retired. Ceithaml, who always preferred to be called dean for students, was admired for his in-depth knowledge about every student and for his efforts to help students with academic, financial or personal problems. He tackled similar issues at the national level, serving as chairman of the Association of American Medical Colleges’ committee on medical student financing, from 1961 to 1964, and as vice chairman and chairman of the Group on Student Affairs, which he co-founded, from 1965 to 1969. He served on the board of directors of the National Resident Matching Program from 1967 to 1980, during the period when the computerized Match system was implemented. Ann, his wife of 43 years, died of cancer in 1985. Ceithaml is survived by his second wife, Mildred, and her son, Bob Husa; two children, Lenore and Eric; three grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. Members of the Pritzker School of Medicine and Biological Sciences Division community gathered September 12, 2013, in Rockefeller Memorial Chapel to celebrate his life and legacy. Read a 2006 Medicine on the Midway profile of Dean Ceithaml, written on the occasion of his 90th birthday, at uchospitals.edu/midway/ceithaml.
The Joseph J. Ceithaml Scholarship Fund provides financial assistance to students at the Pritzker School of Medicine. To make a donation, please visit medbsd.uchicago.edu/alumni/remembering-ceithaml. uchospitals.edu/midway
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