McAnarney Professorship in Pediatrics funded by Friedlanders

Pediatric research and education are moving forward at the University of Rochester Medical Center, with a major gift from a local couple that has long supported the University.

A gift from Roger and Carolyn Friedlander has created a new endowed professorship in honor of Elizabeth McAnarney, M.D., professor and chair emerita of pediatrics at the Medical Center. The Dr. Elizabeth R. McAnarney Professorship in Pediatrics Funded by Roger and Carolyn Friedlander will be used to support research activities in pediatrics, and to hire, train and mentor talented young scientists to further strengthen the future of its programs.

The Friedlanders’ generous commitment will contribute to Golisano Children’s Hospital’s $100 million campaign, which will support both a new children’s hospital and focus on programs to enhance care, research and education. The effort is part of the Medical Center’s $650 million campaign and the overall $1.2 billion goal of The Meliora Challenge, The Campaign for the University of Rochester.

The gift comes from two steadfast supporters of the University for nearly four decades. McAnarney first met the Friedlanders through Carolyn’s work as a pediatric nurse practitioner at Elmwood Pediatric Group. Roger was the chair of the children’s hospital fundraising board in 1993 when McAnarney was named the sixth chair of the Department of Pediatrics and pediatrician-in-chief of what is now Golisano Children’s Hospital. The Friedlanders have supported programs and projects throughout the University, but chose to endow a professorship in McAnarney’s name to honor her legacy of ongoing work and extraordinary contributions on behalf of children.

“We are so fascinated and intrigued by what she has done for children all over the world. She was the perfect person to recognize in this way,” Roger said. “This is not just financial involvement; it’s heart to heart.”

The first recipient of the professorship will be Richard E. Kreipe, M.D., professor of pediatrics and a protégé of McAnarney’s. Kreipe is the founding director of the Child and Adolescent Eating Disorder Program at the hospital and is a board-certified pediatrician and adolescent medicine specialist, as well as a Fellow of the Academy for Eating Disorders. The Child and Adolescent Eating Disorders Program has become a sign of hope for young people who suffer from eating disorders as well as their families, and is a very important component of the Golisano Children’s Hospital.

“This professorship is a fitting honor for Dr. McAnarney, who has always been responsive to whatever the University needs,” said Mark B. Taubman, M.D., dean of the School of Medicine and Dentistry. “The choice of Dr. Kreipe as the first faculty member to hold the professorship doubly honors her because he was one of her former fellows.”

A genuine treasure among the Rochester community, McAnarney’s many accomplishments include becoming the first woman to chair the Department of Pediatrics, earning the Albert Kaiser Medal from the Rochester Academy of Medicine (2003), and the Crystal Heart Award from the Ronald McDonald House.

“It is a singular honor to be acknowledged by one’s University and by cherished friends by the creation of a professorship in one’s name. There is no other acknowledgement in academics that resonates so deeply,” McAnarney said.