Robert Q. Marston
Encyclopedia
Robert Quarles "Bob" Marston (February 12, 1923 – March 14, 1999) was an American physician
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...

, research scientist, governmental appointee and university administrator. Marston was a native of Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...

, and, after earning his bachelor's
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...

, medical
Medical degree
A medical degree is, broadly defined, any academic degree which places its holder in a position to engage in the practice of medicine. BBC has reported that Medicine related degree programs such as MBBS, BDS and PharmD are the most difficult degree programs of all the other Bachelor degree programs...

 and research degrees, he became a research scientist and medical professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...

. He served as the dean
Dean (education)
In academic administration, a dean is a person with significant authority over a specific academic unit, or over a specific area of concern, or both...

 of the University of Mississippi School of Medicine
University of Mississippi School of Medicine
The University of Mississippi School of Medicine is the medical school of the University of Mississippi.Created in 1903 on the Oxford, Mississippi campus, the School of Medicine was used as a hospital during the Civil War for both Union and Confederate soldiers, especially those who were wounded...

, the director of the National Institutes of Health
National Institutes of Health
The National Institutes of Health are an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services and are the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and health-related research. Its science and engineering counterpart is the National Science Foundation...

, and the president of the University of Florida
University of Florida
The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...

.

Early life and education

Marston was born in Toano, Virginia
Toano, Virginia
Toano is an unincorporated town in James City County, Virginia, United States.-History:Toano was established in the late 19th century in western James City County at the former site of Burnt Ordinary, which was named in the 18th century for a roadside tavern that had burned down...

, a small unincorporated
Unincorporated area
In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...

 community near Williamsburg
Williamsburg, Virginia
Williamsburg is an independent city located on the Virginia Peninsula in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia, USA. As of the 2010 Census, the city had an estimated population of 14,068. It is bordered by James City County and York County, and is an independent city...

, in 1923. He graduated
Graduation
Graduation is the action of receiving or conferring an academic degree or the ceremony that is sometimes associated, where students become Graduates. Before the graduation, candidates are referred to as Graduands. The date of graduation is often called degree day. The graduation itself is also...

 from the Virginia Military Institute
Virginia Military Institute
The Virginia Military Institute , located in Lexington, Virginia, is the oldest state-supported military college and one of six senior military colleges in the United States. Unlike any other military college in the United States—and in keeping with its founding principles—all VMI students are...

 (VMI) in Lexington, Virginia
Lexington, Virginia
Lexington is an independent city within the confines of Rockbridge County in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The population was 7,042 in 2010. Lexington is about 55 minutes east of the West Virginia border and is about 50 miles north of Roanoke, Virginia. It was first settled in 1777.It is home to...

 with a bachelor of science
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...

 degree in 1944. While attending the Medical College of Virginia (MCV) in Richmond, Virginia
Richmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...

, he married Ann Carter Garnett in 1946. After graduating from MCV with his doctor of medicine
Doctor of Medicine
Doctor of Medicine is a doctoral degree for physicians. The degree is granted by medical schools...

 degree (M.D.) in 1947, he was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship
Rhodes Scholarship
The Rhodes Scholarship, named after Cecil Rhodes, is an international postgraduate award for study at the University of Oxford. It was the first large-scale programme of international scholarships, and is widely considered the "world's most prestigious scholarship" by many public sources such as...

 to attend the University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...

 in Oxford, England. While studying at Oxford's Lincoln College
Lincoln College, Oxford
Lincoln College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It is situated on Turl Street in central Oxford, backing onto Brasenose College and adjacent to Exeter College...

, he worked with Nobel Prize
Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...

-winner Sir Howard Florey, Norman Heatley
Norman Heatley
Norman George Heatley was a member of the team of Oxford University scientists who developed penicillin.He was born in Woodbridge, Suffolk, and as a boy was an enthusiastic sailor of a small boat on the River Deben; an experience which gave him a lifelong love of sailing...

 and other scientists from the research team that developed penicillin
Penicillin
Penicillin is a group of antibiotics derived from Penicillium fungi. They include penicillin G, procaine penicillin, benzathine penicillin, and penicillin V....

 as the first antibiotic
Antibiotic
An antibacterial is a compound or substance that kills or slows down the growth of bacteria.The term is often used synonymously with the term antibiotic; today, however, with increased knowledge of the causative agents of various infectious diseases, antibiotic has come to denote a broader range of...

, and graduated with a degree in research science.

Scientist, administrator, educator

After completing his internship at Johns Hopkins Hospital
Johns Hopkins Hospital
The Johns Hopkins Hospital is the teaching hospital and biomedical research facility of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, located in Baltimore, Maryland . It was founded using money from a bequest by philanthropist Johns Hopkins...

 in Baltimore, Maryland, and a year's residency
Residency (medicine)
Residency is a stage of graduate medical training. A resident physician or resident is a person who has received a medical degree , Podiatric degree , Dental Degree and who practices...

 at Vanderbilt University Hospital
Vanderbilt University Medical Center
The Vanderbilt University Medical Center is a collection of several hospitals and clinics, as well as the schools of medicine and nursing associated with Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee.It comprises the following units:...

 in Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...

, Marston joined the National Institutes of Health
National Institutes of Health
The National Institutes of Health are an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services and are the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and health-related research. Its science and engineering counterpart is the National Science Foundation...

 (NIH) from 1951 to 1953 as a member of the Armed Forces Special Weapons Project, researching the infectious
Infection
An infection is the colonization of a host organism by parasite species. Infecting parasites seek to use the host's resources to reproduce, often resulting in disease...

 after-effects of whole-body irradiation
Irradiation
Irradiation is the process by which an object is exposed to radiation. The exposure can originate from various sources, including natural sources. Most frequently the term refers to ionizing radiation, and to a level of radiation that will serve a specific purpose, rather than radiation exposure to...

. He completed his residency at MCV in 1954.

The Markle Foundation
Markle Foundation
The Markle Foundation is an organization concerned with technology, health care, and national security.Emerging communications media and information technology create unprecedented opportunity to improve people's lives. The Markle Foundation works to realize this potential and promotes the use of...

 awarded Marston a grant
Grant (money)
Grants are funds disbursed by one party , often a Government Department, Corporation, Foundation or Trust, to a recipient, often a nonprofit entity, educational institution, business or an individual. In order to receive a grant, some form of "Grant Writing" often referred to as either a proposal...

 as a "gifted practitioner
Practitioner
A practitioner is someone who engages in an occupation, profession, religion, or way of life.Practitioner may refer to:* Medical practitioner* Justice practitioner* Solitary practitioner, in Wicca and Paganism...

" in the advancement of his academic medical career. Thereafter, he taught for three years on the MCV faculty, and served as an assistant professor of bacteriology
Bacteriology
Bacteriology is the study of bacteria. This subdivision of microbiology involves the identification, classification, and characterization of bacterial species...

 and immunology
Immunology
Immunology is a broad branch of biomedical science that covers the study of all aspects of the immune system in all organisms. It deals with the physiological functioning of the immune system in states of both health and diseases; malfunctions of the immune system in immunological disorders ; the...

 at the University of Minnesota
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...

 Medical School
University of Minnesota Medical School
The University of Minnesota Medical School is the medical school of the University of Minnesota. It is a combination of two campuses situated in Minneapolis and Duluth, Minnesota....

 for a year. He returned to MCV, in 1959, as an associate professor of medicine and the assistant dean for student affairs.

Marston was appointed the dean
Dean (education)
In academic administration, a dean is a person with significant authority over a specific academic unit, or over a specific area of concern, or both...

 of the University of Mississippi
University of Mississippi
The University of Mississippi, also known as Ole Miss, is a public, coeducational research university located in Oxford, Mississippi. Founded in 1844, the school is composed of the main campus in Oxford, four branch campuses located in Booneville, Grenada, Tupelo, and Southaven as well as the...

 School of Medicine
University of Mississippi School of Medicine
The University of Mississippi School of Medicine is the medical school of the University of Mississippi.Created in 1903 on the Oxford, Mississippi campus, the School of Medicine was used as a hospital during the Civil War for both Union and Confederate soldiers, especially those who were wounded...

 and the director of the university's Medical Center
University of Mississippi Medical Center
University of Mississippi Medical Center is the health sciences campus of the University of Mississippi and is located in Jackson, Mississippi...

 in Jackson, Mississippi
Jackson, Mississippi
Jackson is the capital and the most populous city of the US state of Mississippi. It is one of two county seats of Hinds County ,. The population of the city declined from 184,256 at the 2000 census to 173,514 at the 2010 census...

 in the midst of the Civil Rights Movement in 1961. Marston was hired with the tacit understanding that he would integrate
Racial integration
Racial integration, or simply integration includes desegregation . In addition to desegregation, integration includes goals such as leveling barriers to association, creating equal opportunity regardless of race, and the development of a culture that draws on diverse traditions, rather than merely...

 the medical school and medical center to comply with Federal law and maintain the medical school's accreditation. Under his politically understated guidance, and in the face of continued political opposition from Mississippi Governor Ross Barnett
Ross Barnett
Ross Robert Barnett was the governor of Mississippi from 1960 to 1964. He was a States' Rights Democrat.- Early life :...

, his administration admitted the first African-American medical students, hired the first black medical professor, integrated the medical center's patients, and set new precedents for the peaceful racial desegregation of Southern
Southern United States
The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...

 medical schools and teaching hospital
Teaching hospital
A teaching hospital is a hospital that provides clinical education and training to future and current doctors, nurses, and other health professionals, in addition to delivering medical care to patients...

s. Later, in 1965, he was appointed vice chancellor
Chancellor (education)
A chancellor or vice-chancellor is the chief executive of a university. Other titles are sometimes used, such as president or rector....

 of the university.

He returned to the National Institutes of Health in 1966, first as an associate director and the director of the newly created Division of Regional Medical Programs, charged with cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...

, heart disease
Heart disease
Heart disease, cardiac disease or cardiopathy is an umbrella term for a variety of diseases affecting the heart. , it is the leading cause of death in the United States, England, Canada and Wales, accounting for 25.4% of the total deaths in the United States.-Types:-Coronary heart disease:Coronary...

 and stroke
Stroke
A stroke, previously known medically as a cerebrovascular accident , is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by blockage , or a hemorrhage...

 research. Then, as part of an April 1968 NIH departmental reorganization, he was named administrator of the Health Services and Mental Health Administration. Only five months later, on September 1, 1968, Marston was appointed to be the NIH director.

During his last year as the NIH director, Marston became embroiled in a funding controversy with the Nixon administration
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...

, which wanted to place greater funding emphasis on a "war on cancer
War on Cancer
The War on Cancer refers to the effort to find a cure for cancer by increased research to improve the understanding of cancer biology and the development of more effective cancer treatments, such as targeted drug therapies. The aim of such efforts is to eradicate cancer as a major cause of death....

." Marston believed that emphasizing one disease at the expense of other medical research was bad policy, and continued to support balanced, comprehensive funding priorities. He eventually resigned from NIH in April 1973, after nearly five years as director. Afterward, he became a scholar-in-residence at the University of Virginia
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson...

 in Charlottesville, Virginia
Charlottesville, Virginia
Charlottesville is an independent city geographically surrounded by but separate from Albemarle County in the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States, and named after Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, the queen consort of King George III of the United Kingdom.The official population estimate for...

. The National Academy of Science's Institute of Medicine
Institute of Medicine
The Institute of Medicine is a not-for-profit, non-governmental American organization founded in 1970, under the congressional charter of the National Academy of Sciences...

 named him as its first distinguished fellow
Research fellow
The title of research fellow is used to denote a research position at a university or similar institution, usually for academic staff or faculty members. A research fellow may act either as an independent investigator or under the supervision of a principal investigator...

.

In 1974, the Florida Board of Regents
Florida Board of Regents
The Florida Board of Regents was from 1965 to 2001 the governing body for the State University System of Florida, which includes all public universities in the state of Florida, United States. It was created to replace a predecessor body called the Florida Board of Control, which had existed from...

 appointed Marston as the seventh president of the University of Florida
University of Florida
The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...

 located in Gainesville, Florida
Gainesville, Florida
Gainesville is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Alachua County, Florida, United States as well as the principal city of the Gainesville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area . The preliminary 2010 Census population count for Gainesville is 124,354. Gainesville is home to the sixth...

; he undertook the presidency during a time of economic recession
Recession
In economics, a recession is a business cycle contraction, a general slowdown in economic activity. During recessions, many macroeconomic indicators vary in a similar way...

, state budget cuts and increased demand for private funding of the university. During his ten-year tenure, the university matured into one of the nation's ten largest single-campus universities and one of the three most comprehensive in the scope of its academic programs, with significant growth in its sponsored research activities, and notable enhancement of the university's academic quality and reputation. Marston's accomplishments as university president included the organization of a non-profit corporate structure
Nonprofit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...

 for the management of Shands Hospital, helping establish the State of Florida's Eminent Scholars Program, dramatically increasing the university's private financial support, developing programs to attract National Merit Scholars and National Achievement Scholars, and laying the groundwork for the University of Florida's eventual membership in the Association of American Universities
Association of American Universities
The Association of American Universities is an organization of leading research universities devoted to maintaining a strong system of academic research and education...

 (AAU).

After retiring as the University of Florida president emeritus
Emeritus
Emeritus is a post-positive adjective that is used to designate a retired professor, bishop, or other professional or as a title. The female equivalent emerita is also sometimes used.-History:...

 in 1984, Marston returned to the Virginia Military Institute as an eminent scholar, and later served on VMI's governing Board of Visitors
Board of Regents
In the United States, a board often governs public institutions of higher education, which include both state universities and community colleges. In each US state, such boards may govern either the state university system, individual colleges and universities, or both. In general they operate as...

 during the controversy over the court-ordered admission of women. In 1985, he returned to the University of Florida faculty and conducted research and presented papers for the university's Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences and its College of Medicine
University of Florida College of Medicine
The University of Florida College of Medicine is the medical school of the University of Florida. It is part of the J. Hillis Miller Health Science Center, with facilities in Gainesville and Jacksonville...

, co-edited The Medical Implications of Nuclear War for the National Academy of Sciences
United States National Academy of Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences is a corporation in the United States whose members serve pro bono as "advisers to the nation on science, engineering, and medicine." As a national academy, new members of the organization are elected annually by current members, based on their distinguished and...

, and served as the chairman of the Safety Advisory Committee for the Clean-Up of Three Mile Island
Three Mile Island accident
The Three Mile Island accident was a core meltdown in Unit 2 of the Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania near Harrisburg, United States in 1979....

. He also accepted the chairmanship of the Florida Marine Fishery Commission
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is a Florida government agency charged with managing the state's fish and wildlife resources, regulating Florida's fisheries and wildlife, and enforcing related laws...

, tasked with the regulation and protection of the state's saltwater fishing industry.

As a well-known leader in several national educational and medical organizations, Marston was elected president of the National Association of State Universities and Land Grant Colleges
Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities
The Association of Public and Land-grant Universities is an American voluntary, non-profit association of public research universities, land-grant institutions, and state university systems. It has member campuses in all 50 states and the U.S. territories...

, a Distinguished Service Member of the Association of American Medical Colleges
Association of American Medical Colleges
The Association of American Medical Colleges is a non-profit organization based in Washington, DC and established in 1876. It administers the Medical College Admission Test...

, and a member of the governing board of the Institute of Medicine
Institute of Medicine
The Institute of Medicine is a not-for-profit, non-governmental American organization founded in 1970, under the congressional charter of the National Academy of Sciences...

. He was also elected to the corporate board of directors
Board of directors
A board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. Other names include board of governors, board of managers, board of regents, board of trustees, and board of visitors...

 of Johnson & Johnson
Johnson & Johnson
Johnson & Johnson is an American multinational pharmaceutical, medical devices and consumer packaged goods manufacturer founded in 1886. Its common stock is a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the company is listed among the Fortune 500....

, the Hospital Corporation of America
Hospital Corporation of America
Hospital Corporation of America is the largest private operator of health care facilities in the world, It is based in Nashville, Tennessee and is widely considered to be the single largest factor in making that city a hotspot for healthcare enterprise.-History:The founders of HCA include Jack C....

 and Wackenhut
Wackenhut
G4S Secure Solutions is a private security company. It was founded as The Wackenhut Corporation in 1954, in Coral Gables, Florida, by George Wackenhut and three partners ....

.

Legacy

Marston is prominently remembered for his role in desegregating the University of Mississippi medical school, his stewardship of the National Institutes of Health, and his advancement of the academic reputation and standing of the University of Florida. In recognition of his prior work as a medical research scientist and his success in promoting the University of Florida as a major national research university, the Florida Legislature
Florida Legislature
The Florida State Legislature is the term often used to refer to the two houses that act as the state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida. The Florida Constitution states that "The legislative power of the state shall be vested in a legislature of the State of Florida," composed of a Senate...

 dedicated the university's new Marston Science Library
University of Florida Marston Science Library
The University of Florida Marston Science Library is the science and engineering library of the University of Florida located in Gainesville, Florida, and is administered by the university's George A. Smathers Libraries system...

 in his honor in 1987.

Marston died in Gainesville, Florida on March 14, 1999; he was 76 years old. He was survived by his daughter, Ann Wright Marston, and his two sons, Robert D. Marston and W. Wesley Marston, and six grandchildren. His wife, Ann Carter Garnett Marston, died the previous year; they were married for fifty-one years.

See also

  • Florida Gators
    Florida Gators
    The Florida Gators are the intercollegiate sports teams that represent the University of Florida located in Gainesville, Florida. The "Lady Gators" is an alternative nickname sometimes used by the Gators women's teams...

  • History of Florida
    History of Florida
    The history of Florida can be traced back to when the first Native Americans began to inhabit the peninsula as early as 14,000 years ago. Recorded history begins with the arrival of Europeans to Florida, beginning with the Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León, who explored the area in 1513...

  • History of the University of Florida
    History of the University of Florida
    The history of the University of Florida is firmly tied to the history of public education in the state of Florida. The University of Florida, colloquially known as "Florida" or "UF," originated as several distinct institutions that were merged to create a single state-supported university by the...

  • List of Oxford University people
  • List of Presidents of the University of Florida
  • List of Rhodes Scholars
  • List of Virginia Military Institute alumni

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK