A little over a decade ago, McLean embarked on a significant effort to adopt a divisional structure and install nationally respected leaders to oversee seven key domains.
Three of the divisions focus on diagnoses, including depression and anxiety disorders, psychotic disorders, and substance use disorders. Three others relate to demographics: children and adolescents, older adults, and women and girls. The seventh is the Division of Basic Neuroscience, whose cross-cutting research is fundamental to understanding the brain basis of health and disease, and foundational to developing better care.
In tandem, the hospital sought to endow leadership positions within each of these areas. During The Way Forward Campaign, we have doubled down on that effort by working to endow additional chairs and program directorships throughout the hospital. Named endowments offer an effective way to attract, retain, resource, and honor extraordinary leaders, by providing critical funding in perpetuity to fuel their efforts to enhance positive outcomes across McLean’s mission.
The donor community has responded robustly to this offering. More than a dozen leadership roles are now endowed across the hospital, the majority of which were established during the current campaign.
“These extraordinary clinicians and researchers have the talent and well-deserved international reputations that would allow them to pursue their important work anywhere in the world,” said McLean President and Psychiatrist in Chief Scott L. Rauch, MD, the Rose-Marie and Eijk van Otterloo Endowed Chair of Psychiatry. “Endowed chairs and directorships help them to lead their teams and maximize their impact here at McLean.”
Mutually Beneficial Relationships
Let’s hear from a few of these leaders and the donors who so generously support their roles.
The Phyllis and Jerome Lyle Rappaport Endowed Chair in Psychiatry, of which Bill Carlezon, PhD, is the inaugural incumbent, was funded by the Rappaports through their family foundation. Concurrently, the Rappaport Foundation also endowed and named the Division of Basic Neuroscience.
“A new era in psychiatric care is on the horizon, and we are proud to play a role in its evolution,” said Phyllis Rappaport. “I hope that others will see the value and potential and help turn this vision into a reality.”
Bill Carlezon, PhD
“It is a career-defining honor to have the support of a chair,” added Carlezon, “and a privilege to be forever connected to the Rappaport family name. We consider these resources to be precious, and we will use them thoughtfully for the mission that all of us here share: to make life better.”
The Corrigan-Minehan Endowed Chair in Psychiatry was established by McLean Trustee Cathy Minehan, reflecting both her name and that of her late husband, Gerry. Cathy said that her gift was in gratitude for McLean’s memory care services, which benefited them profoundly. “We relied so much on McLean and the incredible clinicians there. The more you see the difference that good care makes, the more you appreciate McLean.”
“The resources afforded by this gift will be critical in helping to bring early-stage ideas to reality,” said Ipsit Vahia, MD, newly appointed chief of the Division of Geriatric Psychiatry and the chair’s inaugural incumbent. “That will have the dual effect of giving patients access to cutting-edge care models while keeping McLean at the forefront of dementia care worldwide.”
The Kingdon Saylor Endowed Director of Trauma Programs is held by Milissa Kaufman, MD, PhD, who serves as medical director of the Trauma Continuum of Care at McLean’s Hill Center, as well as director of the hospital’s Dissociative Disorders and Trauma Research Program.
“This endowed position confers a tremendous feeling of optimism both for me and our dedicated team members who are working to achieve our shared vision of expanding how we help people with trauma-related disorders,” said Kaufman. “We feel enormous gratitude to our donors, who are deeply committed to improving the lives of individuals and families who have experienced trauma.”
The Tommy Fuss Endowed Chair in Psychiatry supports the director of McLean’s Center for Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Research (CDASR). RoseMary Fuss, who named the chair after her son, said, “Now more than ever, philanthropy is the key to ensuring quality, accessible care, advancing innovative research, and supporting early-career clinicians and investigators. I hope the Tommy Fuss Endowed Chair will move the needle forward in all these areas.”
The Tayebati Family Endowed Chair in Psychiatry is held by Division of Alcohol, Drugs, and Addiction Chief Roger D. Weiss, MD. “I am humbled and honored to occupy the Tayebati Family Endowed Chair,” said Weiss. “This generous gift ensures that addiction treatment, research, and training will remain a high priority at McLean Hospital, and that the leadership of our division will be supported in sustaining all of these critical missions.”
The Power of Perpetuity
All gifts have value, but gifts that keep on giving—such as endowments that spawn income in perpetuity—are essential to the long-term growth and security of McLean’s divisions, programs, and faculty.
All nonprofit institutions have to accommodate the highs and lows of the economy, public health trends, and forces beyond our control. Endowed chairs and directorships have the unique ability to smooth and elevate the fiscal trajectory, ensuring our continued success and sustainability.
“There is a special bond and recognition associated with endowed positions,” said Rauch, “not just for the incumbent, but for the donor and the institution as well. It is a symbol of deep and enduring shared commitment that is timeless and at the highest level of quality, helping us to advance the field together. We are proud that so many of McLean’s leaders have been recognized and honored in this way—and profoundly grateful to the donors who have made that possible.”
Other Endowed Roles at McLean
Hall-Mercer Chair in Child & Adolescent Psychiatry
Daniel P. Dickstein, MD, FAAP, chief, Nancy and Richard Simches Division of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry
Kristine M. Trustey Chair in Psychiatry
Shelly F. Greenfield, MD, MPH, chief, Division of Women’s Mental Health
William P. and Henry B. Test Professor of Psychiatry
Dost Öngür, MD, PhD, chief, Division of Psychotic Disorders
Michael Hollander, PhD, Endowed Directorship
Blaise Aguirre, MD, director, 3East Continuum
Andrew L. Smith Endowed Directorship
Joseph Stoklosa, MD, clinical director, Division of Psychotic Disorders
