Bronston, William

Biographical Information

Born and educated in Los Angeles, California, William Bronston received his Medical Degree at the University of Southern California School of Medicine, completed an Internship in Pediatrics at Los Angeles Children's Hospital, and was a resident in psychiatry at Menninger's in Topeka, Kansas.

While a Senior in Medical School, Bronston founded the Student Health Organization in 1964, a nationwide graduate health science student movement dedicated to promoting universal health care as a human right, overcoming racism, sexism and physician elitism in the health system and addressing issues of war and poverty as the greatest health and medical challenges facing the health profession and the public in general. In 1968, Bronston moved from Kansas to New York where he was a leader in a range of human rights and labor issues in the health care field, a career pursuit which has continued to the present day.

Deeply concerned about the plight of children with mental retardation and other disabilities, Bronston spent three years as a staff physician in the infamous Willowbrook State School in Staten Island. As a public advocate, he helped architect the 1971 Class Action Law Suit against New York State for Constitutional violations of due process, right to treatment and decent care aimed to close its dehumanizing State Institutions.

After a Post Doctoral Fellowship at Syracuse University in the Department of Education, Bronston returned to California in 1975, where he was appointed as the senior clinical consultant to the Director of the California Department of Health in the field of developmental disabilities. He was then appointed Medical Director of the State Department of Developmental Services, served as medical consultant to the Secretary of Health and Welfare, and then became Medical Director to the State Department of Rehabilitation.

Bronston administered Project Interdependence, a multi-state grant of national significance to promote youth leadership development among multicultural youth with and without disabilities from his non profit foundation, the World Interdependence Fund. This project included a national "Best Practices" search among the leading youth training projects across the country, offering technical assistance and consultation and contributing to the creation of a national network whose collective vision is a better sustainable life, meaningful integration and inclusion, political empowerment, mutual caring and justice among all peoples.

In 1995, Bronston's founded his most recent venture, The Tower of Youth, a model telecommunications, media and performing arts youth career and leadership project, and Theatron Media Arts Training Academy. The unique regional Sacramento Valley and Sierra foothill all teenage organization has gathered over 1500 youth each year and produced annual events in state of the art digital graphic movie making at The Teen Digital Reel Showcase and Awards, performing arts at The Lenaea Theater Festival, and television and film production at The All Youth Film and Education Day held in Sacramento.

(from the collection)

From the guide to the William Bronston papers, 1961-2008, (The Bancroft Library)