Wright, Jane C., 1919-2013

Dr. Jane C. Wright, n.d.

Jane Cooke Wright was born 30 Nov 1919 in New York City, the daughter of Corinne Cooke and Louis Thompkins Wright, surgeon and cancer researcher. She attended the Ethical- Fieldston School in New York City, going on to Smith College from which she graduated in 1942. She then went on to New York Medical College, receiving her MD in 1945. She married David Jones, an attorney and affirmative action advocate, in 1947. Together they had two daughters, Jane and Alison. After completing her internship and residencies at Bellevue and Harlem Hospitals, she joined the Harlem Hospital Cancer Research Foundation, established by her father. She eventually succeeded him as director and continued her research at New York University-Bellevue Medical Center. In 1967 she was appointed Associate Dean of the New York Medical College, the first women in the US to hold such a position at a medical school, a position she held until 1975. She then held appointment there as a professor of surgery, 1975-87. A member of several professional organizations, Wright was a founder and the first secretary treasurer of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in 1964. She was the first woman elected president of the New York Cancer Society, 1971and she served on the President's Commission on Heart Disease, Cancer and Stroke, 1964-65, as well as the National Advisory Cancer Council, 1966-70. A trustee of Smith College (1970-80), Wright has been recognized by her alma mater: in 1968, she was a Smith Medalist and in 1981, she received the Otelia Cromwell Award. She has received numerous other awards including the Mademoiselle Award (1952) and the American Association for Cancer Research Award (1975).