DEATHS
Dr.
Dickens | Mr. Huang | Ms. Green
| Mr. Majumdar
Dr. Helen
O. Dickens: A Pioneer in Women's Health
Dr.
Helen Octavia Dickens, a distinguished emeritus professor of obstetrics
and gynecology and former associate dean of medicine died on December
2, at the age of 92.
Dr. Dickens was born in Dayton, Ohio in 1909. She graduated from
the University of Illinois School of Medicine, in 1934, and was
the only African-American woman in her class. After graduation
she worked at Provident Hospital in Chicago then practiced with
Dr. Virginia Alexander in North Philadelphia. In 1943 she attended
the Penn Graduate School of Medicine for one year concentrating
in obstetrics and gynecology. In 1945, she became the first female
African-American board-certified ob/gyn in Philadelphia.
In
that same year, Dr. Dickens became director of the department
of obstetrics and gynecology at Mercy Douglass Hospital in Philadelphia.
She joined the courtesy staff of Women's Hospital in 1951 and
became a member of the staff and faculty in the department of
obstetrics and gynecology in the School of Medicine in 1956 when
Penn acquired Women's Hospital. At that time she was the first
African-American woman to serve in this position. She was also
professor of obstetrics and gynecology.
In
1967, Dr. Dickens founded the Teen Clinic at Penn for school-age
mothers in the inner city. The clinic's services included counseling
and group therapy, educational classes, family planning assistance,
and prenatal care. She also initiated a project that brought temporary
cancer detection facilities into Philadelphia's inner city. Additionally,
Dr. Dickens implemented a program funded by the NIH that encouraged
doctors to perform Pap smears to test for cervical cancer.
In
1969 Dr. Dickens was named associate dean for minority admissions.
She helped recruit African-Americans to the medical school In
her first fiveyears she was responsible for increasing minority
numbers from three students to 64.
In
1982, Dr. Dickens received an honorary degree from Penn. She also
received one from the Medical College of Pennsylvania in 1979.
The
Helen O. Dickens Center for Womens' Health at HUP was named for
Dr. Dickens in 1999 (Almanac May 18/25 1999) in honor of
the 50 years she "dedicated to healing, helping and guiding
women of all ages."
A
portrait of Dr. Dickens by Charlotte Franklin was hung in the
School of Medicine in 1985; then, in 1992 another portrait of
her was unveiled, this one by her colleague Dr. Burnett L. Johnson,
professor and vice chair of dermatology.
Dr.
Dickens was a member of the Pan American Medical Women's Association
and its president from 1968-1970. A member of the board of directors
for the American Cancer Society, the Children's Aid Society, the
Devereaux Foundation. She was also the recipient of many awards
including the Gimbel Philadelphia Award for "outstanding
service to humanity," the Medical Woman of the Year, Distinguished
Daughter of Pennsylvania; Daisy Lumpkin Award; the Mercy Douglass
Hospital Award; and the Sadie Alexander Award for community service
by Delta Sigma Theta.
In
1991, she received the faculty/staff award at Penn's Women of
Color celebration where their most prestigious award was named
for Dr. Dickens. Known as the Dr. Helen O. Dickens Lifetime Achievement
Award, it is awarded to exemplary candidates with a long history
of service to Women of Color in the Penn and Delaware Valley communities.
She
also received the Family Planning Council of Southeastern Pennsylvania
Award for her "lifelong contributions to women's helath care
both as an outstanding teacher-clinician and as a pioneer in programming
to assist teen-aged mothers in the region to complete their education"
in 1995.
Dr.
Dickens is survived by her daughter Jayne Brown; son, Norman S.
Henderson; and three grandchildren.
Dr.
Dickens | Mr. Huang | Ms.
Green | Mr. Majumdar
Mr.
Huang: Psychology Student
Abraham
Huang, a junior in the College majoring in psychology, died December
5, in a motorcycle accident. He was 20 years old.
Mr.
Huang had transferred to Penn in September from Purdue University
in Indiana. He was from Framington, Connecticut.
He
is survived by his parents, and a sister.
Dr.
Dickens | Mr. Huang | Ms.
Green | Mr. Majumdar
Mrs.
Green: Retired Lecturer in Human Sexuality
Mrs.
Sally Green, a retired lecturer in psychiatry, died on November
23 at the age of 71.
Mrs.
Green came to Penn in 1948 as a student and received a B. A. in
architecture in 1952. She earned her master's of science in education
from Penn in 1974. She began teaching at Penn in 1973 and retired
as a lecturer in Academic Support Staff in the School of Medicine
in family study in psychiatry. She taught a course on human sexuality
which was very popular. She also conducted family therapy at the
Penn Council for Relationships, the then Marriage Council.
Mrs.
Green is survived by her husband, Rodney; sons, Jesse and Anthony;
and four grandchildren.
Memorial
donations may be made to Temple Beth Hillel-Beth El's Educational
Endowment Fund, 1001 Remington Rd., Wynnewood, PA 19096.
Dr.
Dickens | Mr. Huang | Ms.
Green | Mr. Majumdar
Memorial
Service for Mr. Majumdar
A
memorial service for Anirban Majumdar, the recently deceased
SEAS graduate student, will be held on December 11, from 4:30-5:30
p.m., in the Hall of Flags in Houston Hall. A reception will
follow.
Mr.
Majumdar, was a first year Ph.D. student in computer and information
science from Calcutta, India. His mother will be in attendance.