Remembering the Legacy of the late Dr. Carroll Moton Leevy

Friends, family, and colleagues recently gathered during a Memorial Service in the Oral Health Pavilion to pay tribute to the life and legacy of the late Dr. Carroll M. Leevy.

Dr. Leevy was an internationally acclaimed physician, educator, and founding father of the NJMS. His son Carroll B. Leevy, a faculty member at NJMS, and Eileen Quirk, the late Dr. Leevy's administrator of 58 years, were present at the Memorial Service.

Dr. William F. Owen, Jr., President of UMDNJ, provided a welcome and was the first of many to memorialize Dr. Leevy and recognize his vast accomplishments. Dr. Owen also reflected on the challenges he believed Dr. Leevy faced throughout his lifetime, particularly during his educational and professional development.

While moderating the service, Dr. Robert Johnson, Interim Dean of NJMS, remembered the trepidation he experienced as a student of Dr. Leevy, a man he both respected and admired. Other NJMS alumni, like NJMS Vice Dean Dr. Maria Soto-Greene, publicly shared their sentiments with nearly 100 attendees.

Nine members of the local chapter of Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity conducted an Omega Ceremony as a tribute to Dr. Leevy, a member of the organization. A few individual presenters included: Dr. Francis P. Chinard, Distinguished Professor Emeritus and Former Chair of the Department of Medicine; Dr. Robert A. Schwartz, Professor and Chair of Dermatology; Dr. George F. Heinrich, Vice President & CEO of The Foundation at UMDNJ; and Dr. Kendell Sprott, Interim Chairman of the Department of Pediatrics.

These faculty members and administrators gave  personal and professional accounts of serious moments and light interactions with Dr. Leevy. They also highlighted notable milestones in his life, which included being a medical student who was appointed to the National Advisory Committee of the National Youth Administration by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

During a period when African Americans were rarely admitted to medical schools, Dr. Leevy was one of three African-American students at the University of Michigan's School of Medicine's Class of 1944. After commencement, he faced a new challenge of finding a high-caliber medical school that admitted African Americans for training. Dr. Leevy completed his residency in internal medicine at Jersey City Medical Center where he remained on staff for ten years as Director of Clinical Investigations.

Following the early 1950's Dr. Leevy, along with the chiefs of medicine and surgery, established the Seton Hall College of Medicine and Dentistry in 1954, which would later become NJMS. Coinciding with the formation of the school, Dr. Leevy became Director of the Naval Pulmonary Section of St. Albans Naval Hospital and he was promoted to Commander in the U.S. Navy.

Once he returned to Jersey City after completing one year at Harvard Medical School, Dr. Leevy then served as first President of the Board of Concerned Citizens at UMDNJ, a community-focused organization that was established in the aftermath of the Newark Riots of 1967.

He was the second NJMS Faculty President from 1970 to 1972 and the third permanent head of the Department of Medicine from 1975 to 1991. He published four books, 20 textbooks, and more than 500 scientific papers. He also received accolades for establishing the Sammy Davis, Jr. National Liver Institute.  He was one of the first NJMS faculty members to be nominated by faculty, and subsequently confirmed by the UMDNJ Board of Trustees, for the title of Distinguished Professor.

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