Credit Line: Gift of Alumnae Association
Means of Accession: Gift
Made/Created
Artist
Roy F. Spreter
Dimensions
Dimension Description
Overall dimensions: Framed
Height
36 in
Width
30-1/2 in
Depth
2-1/2 in
Dimension Description
Canvas dimensions: Unframed
Height
30 in
Width
25-1/2 in
Interpretative Labels
Label Type
Exhibition Label
Label
Marion Spencer Fay earned her Ph.D. at Yale University and came to the Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania in 1935 to head the Department of Physiological Chemistry. She became Acting Dean when her predecessor, Margaret Craighill, took a leave of absence to become the first woman in the U.S. Army Medical Corps. Dr. Fay saw the College through the war years and in 1946 became Dean. She eagerly moved the College forward in research, in private and grant funding, and in the shift from part-time to full-time faculty. She successfully opposed merging Woman’s Med with Jefferson, and worked tirelessly to raise funds for new nursing, preventive medicine and research facilities in the post-war period.
In 1959, she was named Dean and President. Dr. Fay was the first woman to hold both these positions at the College. She officially retired in 1964, but continued to serve on the Board of Corporators, and was called back from retirement in 1970 to serve as Acting President for a year.
