| |
By Jill Elish
February 14, 2002
Dr. Charlotte Maguire awarded honorary degree
Dr. Charlotte Edwards Maguire, a distinguished pediatrician and a
supporter of the FSU College of Medicine, was awarded an honorary
doctoral degree in a ceremony Feb. 14.
"Dr. Maguire is a pioneer for women in medical sciences and an
inspiration for future doctors," said FSU President Talbot "Sandy"
D'Alemberte. "She has dedicated her career to caring for those who
needed it most - minorities, disabled children and the indigent -
and has helped FSU establish a medical school where that philosophy
will flourish."
In 1999, Maguire donated $1 million to FSU's then Program in Medical
Science to create the Charlotte Edwards Maguire Eminent Scholar
Chair to endow student scholarships. The next year she was an
outspoken advocate for the creation of the College of Medicine, and
she has since donated an additional $1 million to create an eminent
scholar chair in geriatrics. The gift will allow the FSU College of
Medicine to recruit an eminent scholar in geriatrics who can focus
attention on the special needs of an aging population.
"Dr. Maguire has been actively involved with our students, and these
gifts are helping to prepare the next generation of Florida
physicians," said Dr. Joseph Scherger, dean of the College of
Medicine. "Her vision and her desire to make a difference in the
lives of future doctors and patients truly exemplify her ideals."
Now a Tallahassee resident, Maguire was born in 1918 and grew up in
Orlando. She earned her bachelor's degree from Memphis Teachers
College in 1940.
She earned her medical degree in 1944 from the University of
Arkansas where she was the only woman in her class. The opening of
her pediatric practice in Orlando after her graduation was greeted
with the newspaper headline "Orlando's first girl doctor returns."
She took a special interest in children with disabilities, and from
the beginning of her practice, she provided free services to those
in need.
In 1949, she was appointed director of the Orlando Child Health
Clinic. From 1947 to 1956, she served as chief of staff for the
Central Florida Division of Children's Home Society of Florida and
became the first woman president of the Florida Pediatric Society in
1952. She served as a delegate to the World Health Conference in
London in 1957, working directly with Prince Phillip who was the
honorary chair.
She then served as chief of the department of pediatrics at Mercy
Hospital in Orlando from 1965 to 1968.
Maguire also assumed leadership roles in state and national health
care organizations between 1952 and 1970. She helped create the
Florida Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services, now
operating as the Department of Health and the Department of Children
and Families. She founded the Irish and American Pediatric Society
in 1965, and in 1970 was honored with the Distinguished Achievement
Commendation by London's Two Thousand Women of Distinction.
She was one of the highest ranking women in the federal government
under the Nixon Administration as assistant assistant secretary of
health and scientific affairs for the U.S. Department of Health,
Education and Welfare in Atlanta. She returned to Florida in 1975 to
take a position as medical services director for HRS in Tallahassee.
From 1980 to 1987, Dr. Maguire was a member of the clinical staff in
the department of pediatrics at the University of Florida.
A life membership in the Florida Medical Association was conferred
upon Maguire in 1981. In addition, she was named International Woman
of the Year in 1992-93 by the International Biographical Centre in
Cambridge.
|
|
|
| |
|
| |
|