Maude and Lillian Presley Professor of Social Medicine and Professor of Psychiatry
Leon Eisenberg (d. 2009) received his A.B. and M.D. from the University of Pennsylvania in 1944 and 1946, respectively. He was the Maude and Lillian Presley Professor of Social Medicine and Professor of Psychiatry (1974-2009) at Harvard Medical School, as well as Chief of Child Psychiatry (1959-1967) at The Johns Hopkins Hospital, Chief of Psychiatric Services (1967-1974) at Massachusetts General Hospital, and founding Chairman of the Department of Social Medicine and Health Policy (1980-1991)–now the Department of Global Health and Social Medicine–at Harvard Medical School.
Dr. Eisenberg was known, among other things, for his research in autism, and for advances in pediatric clinical trials and psychopharmacology.
A strong advocate for diversity, inclusion, and equity, Dr. Eisenberg was part of the group who petitioned for an affirmative action program at Harvard Medical School following the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Beyond lending his critical support to the program for affirmative action at Harvard Medical School, Dr. Eisenberg would subsequently chair the Commission on Relations with the Black Community that would ensue from the program, drawing attention to the structural racism that continued to shape both society and medical school admissions alike.