Septebmer 10, 2007

MEDIA CONTACT: Tracy Schario

(202) 994-3566; tschario@gwu.edu

MEDICAL HISTORIAN AND PHYSICIAN VANESSA NORTHINGTON GAMBLE NAMED GW UNIVERSITY PROFESSOR

Noted Scholar on Race, Ethnicity, and Justice in American Medicine and Public Health Becomes First Woman University Professor at GW

WASHINGTON - Vanessa Northington Gamble, a physician and noted scholar in the field of medical humanities, has been named University Professor of Medical Humanities at The George Washington University effective September 1, 2007. Gamble's long record of distinguished scholarship focusing on medical history and bioethics led to her selection. She is the first woman to hold the prestigious, endowed faculty position and is a member of GW's Columbian College of Arts and Sciences faculty in the Department of History.

"Dr. Gamble is an exemplary scholar whose work illuminates the critical role of race and racism in the history of American medicine and public health," said Steven Knapp, GW president. "Her presence on our faculty will bring new strength and urgency to GW?s focus on health disparities, and she will be a tremendous resource for our students and her colleagues."

Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs Donald R. Lehman said, "The GW community will benefit from Dr. Gamble's cross-disciplinary approach to scholarship, from her community activism, and from her wide-ranging research projects, which provide unique insights into the ways in which racial identity influences healthcare in the United States."

Gamble comes to GW from Tuskegee University in Alabama, where she was director of the university's National Center for Bioethics in Research and Health Care since 2004. At Tuskegee, Gamble dedicated herself to the center's mission of equity and justice in health care, developed the center?s strategy and infrastructure, and brought issues of bioethics and the underserved to the attention of scholars in the field by engaging faculty in national and international conferences.

"I am looking forward to joining the faculty because I believe that GW is a place that supports research in the medical humanities, where excellence in teaching is expected, and where, as a University Professor, I will have the opportunity to collaborate with colleagues from a broad range of disciplines," Gamble said.   

Gamble was on the faculty of the University of Wisconsin-Madison from 1989 until 2000,  where she taught courses in medical and scientific history and preventive and family medicine, among others. During her tenure, she developed the nation's first course on the history of race, American medicine, and public health. She was inducted into the university's Teaching Academy, an honor reserved for faculty who demonstrate excellence in teaching.  Gamble also founded and was the first director of the Center for the Study of Race and Ethnicity in Medicine at Wisconsin-Madison. The center addresses issues of racial and ethnic disparities in health and health care.

Gamble's experience includes having served as vice president of the division of community and minority programs at the Association of American Medical Colleges, as a health commentator for National Public Radio, and as associate professor of health policy and management at The Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health from 2002 through 2007. She is the author of numerous articles and chapters in major books, including Making a Place for Ourselves: The Black Hospital Movement, 1920-1945, which was named an outstanding academic book in 1995 in Choice magazine.

In 2005 Gamble was elected a member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences. Membership in the National Academy of Sciences is an honor reserved for the nation's most eminent scholars. A noted authority in her field, Gamble received an M.D. and a Ph.D. in the history and sociology of science from the University of Pennsylvania. She holds a B.A. in medical sociology and human biology from Hampshire College.

The George Washington University established the position of University Professor in 1979 to bring scholars of major national and international stature to the University. Gamble will be among the eight other University Professors currently at GW: Peter Caws (philosophy), Amitai Etzioni (international affairs), Seyyed Nasr (Islamic Studies), Jim Rosenau (international affairs), Harry Harding (international affairs), Stephen Saltzberg (law), Bernard Wood (human origins and anthropology), and Stephen Joel Trachtenberg, who became University Professor of Public Service in 2007 after nearly two decades as GW's president.

Located four blocks from the White House, The George Washington University was created by an Act of Congress in 1821. Today, GW is the largest institution of higher education in the nation's capital. The University offers comprehensive programs of undergraduate and graduate liberal arts study as well as degree programs in medicine, public health, law, engineering, education, business, and international affairs. Each year, GW enrolls a diverse population of undergraduate, graduate, and professional students from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and more than 130 countries.

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