Six retire from Bowman Gray – after 201 years of service

Five Bowman Gray School of Medicine professors and a key administrator who have served a total of 201 years received emeritus status this spring.

They are Eben Alexander Jr., professor of neurosurgery; Charles M. Howell Jr., professor of medicine (dermatology and allergy); Julius A. Howell, professor of surgery (plastic surgery); Isadore Meschan, professor of radiology; Ernest H. Yount Jr., professor of medicine (endocrinology and general medicine); and Clyde T. Hardy Jr., associate dean for patient services.

Richard Janeway, vice president for health affairs and dean, honored them with citations at commencement on May 21.

Eben Alexander, who joined the medical school faculty in 1949, was head of the Section on Neurosurgery for twenty-nine years and chief of professional services at North Carolina Baptist Hospital for twenty years.  During his tenure as a head of the Section of Neurosurgery, the medical center developed an outstanding reputation in the neurosciences and its neurosurgery residency program was rated one of the ten best in the nation.

Alexander has been president of the Society of Neurological Surgeons, the world’s oldest and most exclusive neurosurgical organization.  He is a past president of the American Academy of Neurological Surgery and of the Harvey Cushing Society, which later became the American Association of Neurological Surgeons.  He is a former vice president of both the American College of Surgeons and the Neurosurgical Society of America and is a former chairman of the American Medical Association’s Section of Neurological Surgery.  He has served on the Executive Council of the Association of American Medical Colleges, the Council of the Association of American Medical Colleges, the Council on Medical Education of the AMA, and has been a consultant to the National Institute of Neurological and Communicative Disorders and Stroke.

Charles Howell was appointed to the medical school faculty in 1951.  He became head of the Section of Dermatology in 1962 and held that position until last October.  He has made significant contributions to the teaching and patient care programs of the medical center.

His twin brother, Julius Howell, has been on the medical school faculty for twenty-seven years, six of them as head of the Section of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.  He is also trained in medical jurisprudence and is frequently called upon to lecture on the legal aspects of clinical practice.

Isadore Meschan, who came to Bowman Gray in 1955, is a pioneer in several aspects of radiation therapy and is known for his innovative teaching techniques.  He was chairman of radiology from 1955 until 1977.  He is an internationally known author of fifteen radiological textbooks, two of which are regarded as classics.  He also wrote the first English language textbook on radiographic anatomy.  In 1978 he received the Gold Medal, the highest honor awarded by the American College of Radiology.

Ernest Yount is a proficient teacher, clinician, investigator, administrator, and medical statesman.  He joined the medical school faculty in 1948 and was chairman of the department of medicine for twenty years, beginning in 1952.  He was named a Markle Scholar in 1950 and received the Distinguished Service Award in Medicine from the University of Chicago in 1958.  He has served as a director of the National Board of Medical Examiners and as chairman of the Board’s Medical Committee.  He is a former member of the Governor’s Council of the American College of Physicians and a member of Alpha Omega Alpha.

Clyde Hardy, director of the medical school’s Department od Clinics, has completed forty-two years of service, including twenty years as associate dean for patient services.  A recognized leader in his field, he is one of only a few clinic administrators who have served as president of both the American College of Medical Group Administrators and the Medical Group Management Association.  He is a recipient of the Harry J. Harwick Award, the highest award given by the American College of Medical Group Administrators.  He is respected as an authority on medical practice management and is a contributing editor of Medical Economics.

Published in Wake Forest Magazine.