[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 99 (Thursday, June 28, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1175]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     A TRIBUTE TO HONOR THE LIFE AND MEMORY OF DR. ROBERT J. GLASER

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                           HON. ANNA G. ESHOO

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 28, 2012

  Ms. ESHOO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the extraordinary life 
of Dr. Robert J. Glaser, former Dean of the Stanford University School 
of Medicine and a national figure in medical education. Dr. Glaser 
passed away on June 7, 2012, at his home in Palo Alto, surrounded by 
his family. Dr. Glaser, who was 93 years old, is survived by three 
children; Sally, Joseph Glaser II and Robert Glaser, Jr., and four 
grandchildren. His beloved wife Helen Glaser passed away in 1999.
  Dr. Glaser was born and raised in St. Louis. He received his 
undergraduate degree from Harvard College in 1940 and his M.D., magna 
cum laude, from Harvard Medical School in 1943. He then returned to St. 
Louis to do his residency at Barnes Hospital of Washington University 
School of Medicine.
  While at Barnes, his ``wandering eye fixed on an attractive young 
woman in the senior class,'' he wrote in his Harvard 25th reunion 
memoir. The medical student and soon-to-be pediatrician was Helen 
Hofsommer, M.D. She would become Glaser's wife.
  After their wedding, the couple spent the next eight years in St. 
Louis, while Dr. Glaser moved through the ranks at Washington 
University, rising from Instructor to Associate Professor to Assistant 
Dean and Associate Dean of the Medical School. In 1956, he accepted the 
position of Dean of Medical School and Vice President for Medical 
Affairs at the University of Colorado. In 1963, he was tapped to lead 
Affiliated Hospitals Center Inc., in Boston, an ambitious, $50 million 
merger of six Harvard-affiliated hospitals.
  In 1965, he was named the Dean of the Stanford School of Medicine, 
which had moved from San Francisco to Palo Alto. ``Though he came after 
the move, he was the one who shepherded the school through its 
formative years to get everything settled--get the molecules in 
motion,'' said James B.D. Mark, M.D., who arrived at Stanford the same 
year. ``He was a leader at a critical time in the life of this medical 
school.'' Dr. Mark described Dr. Glaser as someone who had ``great 
energy, great experience, high standards and worked hard.'' Paul Berg, 
Ph.D., said Dr. Glaser was a caring person who was ``easy to talk to. 
It was always fun to talk to him. And he was very devoted to the 
school.''
  At the time, the hospital on campus was co-owned by the city of Palo 
Alto. As Dean and Vice President for Medical Affairs at Stanford, Dr. 
Glaser oversaw the purchase of the city's share of the Palo Alto-
Stanford Hospital in 1968. ``Dr. Robert Glaser was an extraordinary 
figure in American medicine and at Stanford specifically,'' said Philip 
Pizzo, M.D., the current Dean of the Stanford School of Medicine. ``Dr. 
Glaser's vision shaped Stanford Medicine as we know it today, and his 
contributions have had an indelible mark on individuals, institutions 
and communities, locally and globally.''
  Dr. Glaser was tapped to serve as Acting President of Stanford 
University following the retirement of Dr. J.E. Wallace Sterling. He 
led the University at a tumultuous time of student protests against the 
war in Vietnam and was lauded by students for his sensitivity and 
responsiveness. At the medical school, Dr. Glaser also oversaw major 
changes in the curriculum to give students greater flexibility--a 
feature that remains a hallmark of the curriculum today. Even into his 
90s, Dr. Glaser continued to attend medical grand rounds and teaching 
conferences.
  After serving as Dean for five years, Dr. Glaser left Stanford in 
1970 to serve as Vice President and Trustee at the Commonwealth Fund, a 
New York-based philanthropy devoted to improving health care. ``Before 
he left for the Commonwealth Fund, his line was, `I'm going to see if 
it's better to give, than not to receive,' '' said Dr. Mark, recalling 
Glaser's dry wit.
  He subsequently went on to serve as President, Chief Executive 
Officer and Trustee of the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation from 1972 
through 1983. From 1984-97, he was Director for Medical Science and 
Trustee of the Lucille P. Markey Charitable Trust, where he oversaw 
distribution of more than $500 million in support of medical science 
research, including the establishment of the Markey Trust Scholar 
Program.
  Dr. Glaser also had a long-term involvement with the Palo Alto 
Medical Foundation. Initially engaged through its research institute, 
in 1981 he became a founding member of its Board of Trustees and 
continued as an Emeritus Trustee through 2008.
  A member of Alpha Omega Alpha, he served on its Board of Directors 
and as the Editor from 1962-97 of its scholarly journal The Pharos, 
while his wife served as Managing Editor.
  Dr. Robert Glaser was also active nationally in medical education 
through the Association of American Medical Colleges and served on the 
National Advisory Committee on Higher Education. He was a founding 
member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences 
and served on the boards of many organizations, including Washington 
University, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, the Packard 
Humanities Institute, the Albert and Mary Lasker Foundation, the Kaiser 
Hospitals and Health Plan, Hewlett-Packard and Alza Corp.
  He also received many awards and honors, including the Abraham 
Flexner Medal for Distinguished Service to Medical Education; the 
Stearns Award for Lifetime Achievement in Medicine from the New York 
Academy of Medicine; the Dean's Medal from Stanford School of Medicine; 
the Dean's Medal from the Harvard Medical School; and the Harvard Medal 
for Distinguished Service.
  In addition to his professional interests, Dr. Glaser had a lifelong 
passion for the commercial airline industry. Over the years, said his 
daughter, Sally Glaser, Ph.D., ``He and one of my brothers would often 
sit out in the back-yard, listening to air traffic control 
communications as they looked at the approaching aircraft through 
binoculars.'' He was an avid traveler, logging more than five million 
miles in air travel for both professional and pleasure trips, including 
his last trip to Harvard in 2010 to attend his 70th college reunion.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in extending our deepest 
condolences to Dr. Glaser's three children, his four grandchildren, his 
colleagues and his students who knew and loved him throughout his 
extraordinary life. Dr. Glaser was a kind man, a brilliant doctor and a 
masterful educator. His life stands as an inspiration to all and a 
model of citizenship. He bettered our Nation, and gladdened our world.

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