Mary D’Alton, MD, is the Willard C. Rappleye Professor of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Chair of the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology at Columbia University. Dr. D’Alton was appointed to be the Willard C. Rappleye Professor of Obstetrics & Gynecology in 2003, and specializes in high-risk maternal fetal medicine. Macy sat down with D’Alton and discussed the importance of endowed professorships to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the endowment.
What has the Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation award allowed you to do that you might not otherwise?
The award has been a legacy in this department for over 50 years. Holding this position has allowed me to follow in the steps of the many great people who have come before me and to pursue a legacy at Columbia of training future leaders.
It has also given me more academic freedom. The funding from the chair gives the capacity to do academic work without having to rely solely on income from clinical care or grants. It has allowed for the development of multidisciplinary programs. A program that we are particularly proud of is our Center for Prenatal Pediatrics. Patients who have an abnormality with their baby come in and see a multidisciplinary group— this group could include an obstetrician, cardiologist, genetic counselor, nurse, whoever is needed to take care of that fetus. No one individual can take care of a fetus that has complications, it needs to be a team. We are currently developing the same program for mothers. While there have been significant advances made in fetal medicine, the same is not true for maternal medicine. This is cause for concern because the maternal mortality rate in our country is rising. Over the last few years I have focused on galvanizing efforts to reduce maternal mortality and morbidity, and improve care for patients who have unusual medical complications during pregnancy.
And in your role as an educator?
Teaching is an integral part of what I do and it is impossible for me to separate it out from my clinical care. Teaching is different now, due in some part to duty hour restrictions and advances in technology that influences the way we teach. At Columbia we have put in place multi-disciplinary training for our residents and fellows so that they can train with all of our allied professionals—nurses, physicians, sonographers, genetic counselors and so on. Making trainees aware of the importance of the team approach to medicine has been one of the contributions I hope I have made during my time as chair.
Why do you think endowed chairs are important for institutions?
There are a variety of reasons. First, it is a phenomenal tool to recruit and retain outstanding physicians. Having the ability to have a named chair is extremely powerful. Second, the endowment funding from the chair allows the pursuit of more academic work, which benefits both the institution and its students. And third, it is a wonderful partnership beyond the funding. For many donors the objective is not to just give an endowment and be done, but to provide an opportunity for further conversation and collaboration. That partnership can be rewarding for both the donor and recipient—two smart minds are better than one. When I speak with Dr. Thibault, our conversations often stimulate me to think about education on a broader level. This sort of relationship and partnership is a model for other potential donors. Investing in something that can have this kind of return is very rewarding.
Why do you think you were selected for this position?
I have a track record in patient care, publication and grant funding but many do. Outside of that, I think one of the reasons I was chosen was my track record in collaboration. I have a vision of seamless collaboration for women and children’s health. While at Tufts, I collaborated to create a successful multi-disciplinary team and I believe that was one of the reasons I was recruited to Columbia. I think the multidisciplinary collaboration skillset that I have, along with my experiences and ability to build programs, was important in the decision to give me this position.
Is there anything else you’d like to add?
The return on investment for an endowed chair can be very far reaching. The rewards for our department have been phenomenal, and I am sure the same is true for the other endowed chairs at Harvard Medical School, the University of Michigan and Cornell University. The extraordinary legacy Macy has had in creating influential major departments in women’s health is evident and I am privileged and honored to be one of its recipients.