A CENTURY OF WOMEN DEANS

A LEGACY OF MENTORSHIP

A TIMELINE OF TRANSFORMATION

A Legacy of Mentorship

Many Woman’s Medical College alumnae were inspired to pay it forward by mentoring students who followed in their footsteps. This “chain” illustrates how mentorship can build on itself and have an impact for generations.

 

 

 
 
 
 
 
Marie Formad, MD, WMCP 1886

Marie Formad, MD, WMC 1886, who was the first woman member of the Philadelphia Obstetrical Society, mentored Catharine Macfarlane, MD, WMC 1899.

Catharine Macfarlane, MD, WMC 1899

Mcfarlane was a pioneer in preventive cancer screening. Macfarlane served as a mentor to Katharine Boucot-Sturgis, MD, WMC ’42.

Katharine Boucot-Sturgis, MD, WMC ’42

Boucot-Sturgis went on to become a pioneer in the field of pulmonary research, authoring around 100 publications on important topics like the correlation between smoking and lung cancer.

Lila Stein Kroser, MD, WMC ’57

Boucot-Sturgis mentored Lila Stein Kroser, MD, WMC ’57, a family practice physician who served as the third woman president of the Philadelphia County Medical Society and the second woman president of the Pennsylvania Academy of Family Physicians.

Joyann Kroser, MD, MCP ’90

Joyann Kroser, MD, MCP ’90, the daughter of Lila Stein Kroser and Al Kroser, is now a gastroenterologist practicing in the greater Philadelphia area. She recently chose to name a room in the Drexel Health Sciences Building in honor of her parents’ influence on the College of Medicine and on her own career.

 

Mentorship Among Black Women

Some of the earliest Black medical students in the U.S. were educated at Woman’s Medical College. Mentorship among these women was especially vital given the added challenges they faced compared to their white peers.

Matilda Evans, MD, WMC 1897

Matilda Evans, MD, WMC 1897, served as a mentor to many students, including Melissa Thompson, MD, WMC 1910. Evans met Thompson in her work as the first female physician in South Carolina. Thompson, who worked in Evans’ hospital, wanted to apply to medical school and needed financial assistance. Evans wrote a recommendation letter to Alfred Jones of Woman’s Medical College that ultimately swayed the school’s decision. In her letter, Evans says, “I am sure that she will be of great service to the race and to suffering humanity. I need her greatly in my work. The poor people of her race need her.”

Matilda Evans, MD, WMC 1897

 
Learn More at The Legacy Center Archives and Special Collections

 
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