Switzer, Mary Elizabeth, 1900-1971

Mary Elizabeth Switzer, government official, was born on February 16, 1900, to Julius F. and Margaret (Moore) Switzer of Newton, Mass. Switzer graduated from Radcliffe College in 1921 with a B.A. in international law. She moved to Washington, D.C., where her first position with the federal government was as assistant secretary to the Minimum Wage Board. She worked for the Department of the Treasury until 1953, principally for the Public Health Service and the Federal Security Agency, becoming increasingly concerned with health care issues. In 1950 she was appointed Director of the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation (which, in 1961, became the Vocational Rehabilitation Administration), overseeing its move to the newly-created Department of Health, Education and Welfare in 1953. In 1967, responsibility for all federal rehabilitation services was combined under the Social and Rehabilitation Service (SRS); Switzer became its first administrator. She retired in 1970 and became vice-president of the World Rehabilitation Fund, where she remained until her death in 1971.

During her tenure at VRA and SRS, Switzer's principal responsibilities were to publicize the government's growing role in vocational rehabilitation and to encourage and support expansion of vocational rehabilitation projects among non-government groups and agencies. Programs for the mentally retarded and severely disabled were especially emphasized. Because of her expertise, Switzer was asked to participate in such bodies as the World Health Organization and the International Society for Rehabilitation; she served as advisor to many American health organizations, including especially the Menninger Foundation and St. Elizabeth's Hospital.

In recognition of her contributions to vocational rehabilitation, Switzer received the President's Certificate of Merit (1948), the Albert Lasker Award in medicine (1960), and numerous other awards and honorary degrees. In 1973, the Department of Health, Education and Welfare dedicated the Mary Elizabeth Switzer building in Washington, D.C.

For many years, Switzer shared a house with her life-long companion, Isabella Diamond, a librarian at the Department of the Treasury. They lived in Alexandria, Va., until Switzer' death on October 16, 1971.