This department has had a resounding impact on reproductive health services in the United States. More than 500 gynecologists and obstetricians who practice throughout the world have received training here, and more than 40 percent of gynecologists and obstetricians practicing in Georgia received at least part of their education at Emory University School of Medicine.
1854
A Department Is Founded
The Atlanta Medical College was chartered and opened its doors with 78 students and seven departments, one of which is the Department of Obstetrics and Diseases of Women and Children.
1868
A Single Professor
The head of the department and its only professor, Jesse Boring, MD was noted for his "attractive eloquence and thoroughness of instruction," by the Atlanta Medical and Surgery Journal.
1898 - 1915
A Series of Mergers
The Atlanta Medical College, Atlanta College of Physicians and Surgeons, and Emory University came together in a series of mergers and resulted in the forming of the Emory University School of Medicine.
1904
A New Name for the Discipline
Hunter P. Cooper was named Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Atlanta College of Physicians and Surgeons in 1904, as noted by the Atlanta Journal Record of Medicine. His appointment, as well as his title, was a milestone for the birth of the current Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics as it is the first time the titles of obstetrics and gynecology are joined at this facility.
1904-1919
The Faculty Doubles
Over the next 15 years, the department will grow from having nine members, including James R. McCord as an Assistant Instructor (1912), to more than 18 members. These numbers will include one emeritus professor of gynecology, two professors of gynecology and clinical gynecology, two professors of obstetrics and clinical gynecology, four instructors in gynecology, six clinical assistants in obstetrics and gynecology, and three clinical assistants in obstetrics.
1936
The Department Gets a Chair
James R. McCord was named the first chairman of the Emory Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics. His impact on the department has continued to be recognized through the creation of The James Roberts McCord Chair in Gynecology and Obstetrics. This chair is currently held by Professor Denise Jamieson, MD, MPH, Division Director of Gynecologic Specialties.
1961
Dr. Thompson's Legacy
Dr. John D. Thompson was named Chair of the Department replacing Acting Chairman of the Department John B. Cross, MD. The son of an Emory-educated physician, Thompson received his bachelor of science degree from Emory in 1948 and his medical degree in 1951. At the time of his appointment as chair, Dr. Thompson was 34 years old, making him the youngest Chairman of a Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics in the United States at that time.
Dr. Thompson's dedication to women's health resulted in not only growth in the number of faculty but the department's stature. His leadership was marked by the recruitment of notable physicians such as Dr. W. Newton Long, Dr. Luella Klein, and Dr. Robert Hatcher. While his specialty was gynecologic surgery he worked to ensure the development of a department focused on the total reproductive health of women; adolescent health, contraception, maternal mortality, infant health, and early detection of cervical cancer, to name just a few issues.
Dr. Thompson trained many of the preeminent gynecologic surgeons in the United States, as well as thousands of medical students, residents, and fellows. As part of his legacy, Thompson is noted as having created our department's Resident Research Day, believed to be the first in the country. Even trainees who did not pass through the department program benefited from his work on TeLinde's Operative Gynecology, the premier text in the field of gynecologic surgery.
1962
The Finest Family Planning Program in the U.S.
The Sunnen Foundation provided a small grant for Family Planning services. The funds were used to provide contraceptive services to about 40 patients per month, using mostly intravaginal foam. Dr. Robert Hatcher, a pediatrician, was designated by Dr. Thompson to oversee these new family planning services, what would become known as the first iteration of the Department's current Family Planning Program. The largest and finest hospital-based family planning program in the United States, according to the Ford Foundation, the family planning services under the leadership of Dr. Robert Hatcher and with the assistance of other faculty members, including Dr. Howard Tatum and Dr. Elizabeth Connell established a close relationship with the CDC. This collaboration resulted in the establishment of a summer fellowship program. Dr. Hatcher serves as lead author for the authoritative text Contraceptive Technology now in its 20th edition.
1965
Redefining High-Risk Pregnancy Care
Dr. Newton Long joined the faculty as Project Director of the Children's' Bureau's grant to Grady Hospital for a special program of maternity care for high-risk patients in April 1965. The Maternal and Infant Care Project at Grady Memorial Hospital, first under the leadership of Dr. Newton Long and then Dr. Luella Klein, was responsible for many improvements in obstetric care for patients at Grady. The Maternity and Infant Care Project, under the leadership of Dr. Newton Long, developed rapidly. Upon its start, the project was recorded to see approximately 1,220 patients per month in nine special OB clinics reorganized to better treat high-risk pregnancies.
1977
A Leader in Reproductive Health for Teens
Dr. Marion Howard joined the faculty in 1977. Dr. Howard assisted in the development of programs that directed attention to the solution of social, educational, and health problems related to teenage pregnancy and was an advocate for the continuation of similar programming as the director of Teen Service at Grady Memorial Hospital. For example, Dr. Howard developed the nationally recognized program, Postponing Sexual Involvement, which used peer counselors and emphasized abstinence. Before completing work for her Ph.D., Dr. Howard served as Director of the Consortium on Early Child-Bearing and Child-Rearing in Washington, D.C. from 1968 through 1972. A December 2000 gift of $2 million endowed the Marion Howard Chair in Adolescent Reproductive Health to the Emory University School of Medicine by Ms. Jane Fonda, this was in addition to her endowment which created The Jane Fonda Center.
1984
Softball Champions
Gynecology and Obstetrics residents and faculty win their first School of Medicine Meconium Cup.
1986
First Female Chair, Champion for the Underserved
Dr. Richard Krause, Dean of Emory University School of Medicine, announced the appointment of the very first female Department Chair, Dr. Luella Klein. Dr. Klein, whose sub-specialty in maternal-fetal medicine, served as the foundation for her work as the Director of the Maternal and Infant Care Project located at Grady Memorial Hospital. Throughout her 60-year career, Dr. Klein championed equality in health care for adolescent, low-income, incarcerated, and LBTQI+ women; women of color; women with disabilities; women with HIV; and other underserved populations. In addition to her time as Chairman of the Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics Dr. Luella Klein's accolades also included: the first female President of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologist, the Georgia Obstetrical and Gynecological Society, the Atlanta Obstetrical and Gynecological Society, and Atlanta Women Physicians Association, and examiner for the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
1992
Expansions in Research and Fertility Treatment
Dr. John A. Rock joined Emory University School of Medicine and served as chairman and director of the Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics for the next decade and developed a Research Division within the department. Dr. Rock, whose sub-specialty focus, Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility, was instrumental in the opening of The Emory Fertility Center. In 2003, upon his departure to serve as dean of the LSU Medical School and chancellor of the Health Sciences Center, a national search resulted in the appointment of Sarah L. Berga, MD, the new Chair of the Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics.
2010
Strategic Departmental Growth
After Dr. Berga's seven-year tenure as Department Chair, Ira R. Horowitz, MD, SM, is named the John D. Thompson Professor and Chairman of the Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, and the new Chairman of the Department. Dr. Horowitz, a Gynecologic Oncologist was responsible for growing and strengthening the Department over the next six years. The clinical arm of the Department expanded offerings to patients on the Clifton campus as well as the Emory Saint Joseph's campus. Faculty numbers grew exponentially, fellowships were added in Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery and Genital Dysplasia and new areas of focus (including population health) were highlighted marking a time of strategic departmental growth.
2016
An Interim Chair
Penny Castellano, MD, the Vice Chair for Clinical Affairs was asked to serve as the Interim Department Chair in 2016, a role she concurrently holds while also serving as Associated Director and Chief Medical Officer for The Emory Clinic and Emory Specialty Associates. This change occurred due to the request for Dr. Horowitz to take on a larger responsibility as interim Director for The Emory Clinic and Interim President of the Physician Practice Groups for Emory Healthcare.