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alum notes Winter 2002 - Volume 13, No. 1 |
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current issue | past issues | scribe | contact info | home |
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alum notes Winter 2002 - Volume 13, No. 1 |
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current issue | past issues | scribe | contact info | home |
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Alumni Association Welcomes New Officer
Career Night Provides Insight, Direction for Medical Students
The Fraibergs Celebrate Family Ties to WSU
Graduate School Alumni Profile: Dr. Charlie Szekeres Carries WSU's Reputation to Boston, Hungary and Beyond
Dermatology Celebrates New Endowed Chair
Where are These Missing Members of the 2002 Reunion Class?
Planning to Give: Consider a Bequest to the WSU School of Medicine
Celebrating the Spirit of Generosity: Obstetrics and Gynecology Endowed Chairs
Graduate School Alumni Profile: Bacterial Genomics Reveals MS Trigger
Annual Telefund Campaign Kicks Off
WSU Represented at MSMS Meeting
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Dr. Marjorie Peebles-Meyers Broke Racial, Gender Barriers School’s First Black Female Graduate Dies At Age 86
In 1943, Marjorie Peebles-Meyers earned her medical degree as the first African-American woman to graduate from Wayne State University School of Medicine. She spent her life as a pioneer, conquering many obstacles and receiving many honors for her outstanding accomplishments. Dr. Peebles-Meyers died from a stroke at Detroit Receiving Hospital on Dec. 26, 2001, at age 86. The Harlem native announced in 1928 that she wanted to become a doctor and then set out to fulfill her dreams. She graduated from Hunter College in New York City with a bachelor of arts and completed her master’s degree in psychology at Columbia University. She attended Howard University Medical School, but transferred to WSU after two years. In 1947, she completed her residency in internal medicine and was among the first Detroit doctors to establish an interracial private practice with the late Dr. Eugene Shafarman. She was the first African-American woman accepted as an intern at Detroit Receiving Hospital and the first black woman to become its chief resident. Dr. Peebles-Meyers also was the first African-American woman to receive a teaching appointment at the WSU School of Medicine, where she served as clinical associate professor in the Department of General Medicine. From 1977 to 1985, Dr. Peebles-Meyers was the first woman and first African American to serve as chief physician for Ford Motor Co. at the World Headquarters in Dearborn, Mich. The Michigan State Medical Society elected her to its AMA delegation, making Michigan the first and later one of few states to have an African-American woman on its delegation. She received many honors, including being named a Distinguished Warrior by the Detroit Urban League; Michigan’s Outstanding Physician by the Michigan State Medical Board; and a member of the Michigan Women’s Hall of Fame in 1986. Newsweek magazine also profiled her as one of 100 notable Americans, an honor the humble physician tried to downplay. In 2000, the WSU School of Medicine recognized her as one of its inaugural Pathfinders in Medicine. Memorial contributions can be made to WSU's Dr. Marjorie Peebles-Meyers Medical Education Scholarship Fund. Checks made out to Wayne State University School of Medicine can be sent to attorney Joseph C. Smith, 28411 Northwestern Hwy., Suite 1275, Southfield, Mich., 48034. |
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