The Foundation Board Welcomes Kenneth Ludmerer, MD
Monday, September 12, 2022
For Kenneth M. Ludmerer, MD, it was the scientific and altruistic foundations of medicine that initially attracted him to the medical field.
“The deal was sealed after I learned there were ways for doctors to contribute to the broader social good as well as to serve the needs of individual patients,” he says.
Dr. Ludmerer is the Professor of Medicine and the Mabel Dorn Reeder Distinguished Professor of the History of Medicine, School of Medicine, and Professor of History, Faculty of Arts and Sciences. He joined the Washington University faculty in 1979.
He is best known as a medical educator, master clinician and historian of medicine. His passion for medical education and health-care policy has led him to author four books over the course of his career with another in progress, Medicine in Black and White, which looks at the history of racial equity in the medical profession.
His honors include election to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Abraham Flexner Award for Distinguished Service to Medical Education of the Association of American Medical Colleges, and the Distinguished Alumnus Award of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
Dr. Ludmerer says his work in medical education has made him aware of the importance of private philanthropy to the health of the nation. He’s a longtime admirer of philanthropy and the work of The Foundation for Barnes-Jewish Hospital. One of his first forays into medical philanthropy was in 2012 when he sought to establish the David and Paula Kipnis Distinguished Professorship at the School of Medicine and helped raise funds to bring the project to fruition.
“I was inspired by the warmth, enthusiasm, and generosity of spirit with which gifts were given, particularly a major gift from the Foundation that allowed the campaign to reach completion,” he says.
Since then, he’s desired to serve on the Foundation’s Board of Directors to continue his journey with philanthropy and pay it forward to a new generation of health care providers. His goal is to help the Foundation sustain its tradition of innovative giving to improve the health and well-being of patients, families, and our community.