Eckenhoff, James E.

James Edward Eckenhoff was born on April 2, 1915 in Easton Maryland. Graduating from the University of Kentucky in 1937, Eckenhoff went on to attend the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in 1941. There, he decided on specializing in anesthesiology, eventually achieving full professorship. Eckenhoff came to Northwestern in in 1966 and in 1970 he began a 9 year tenure as Dean of Northwestern University's Medical School.

After twenty-one years at the University of Pennsylvania, Eckenhoff came to Northwestern in 1966. In addition to joining the Medical School faculty as professor, Eckenhoff also organized an autonomous Department of Anesthesia, and soon thereafter, Eckenhoff became Director of the second Anesthesia Research Center with the support of the National Institutes of Health. During his tenure as director, many reforms and innovations were implemented, primarily through the establishment of the new Research Center. Here, residents were trained in anesthesiology and conducted research. These changes helped the department raise its standards, making it one of the better departments throughout the United States.

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