The Investiture of Ellen B. Mendelson, MD, FACR, as the Lee F. Rogers, MD, Professor of Medical Education in the Department of Radiology | Dr. Lee F. Rogers |
“Ellen has done it all.” With these words, Harvey L. Neiman, MD, FACR, chief executive officer of the American College of Radiology, described honoree Ellen B. Mendelson, MD, FACR, at the celebration of her investiture as the Lee F. Rogers, MD, Professor of Medical Education in the Department of Radiology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. J. Larry Jameson, MD, PhD, vice president for medical affairs and Lewis Landsberg Dean, kicked off the evening with an explanation of the tremendous honor being bestowed upon Dr. Mendelson, celebrating the great tradition of professorships, her own accomplishments, and the donors who so generously contribute to make endowed professorships possible. Seldom are attendees and honorees of investitures so fortunate to meet these individuals who give so selflessly, but the investiture on May 11 was an auspicious affair. Following Dr. Jameson’s introduction, Lee F. Rogers, MD, clinical professor of radiology at the Arizona Health Sciences Center at the University of Arizona in Tucson, took the podium to share the history and development of the professorship, named in his honor and in recognition of the 21 outstanding years he served as the chair of the Department of Radiology at Northwestern. He shared his belief in the importance of education as the basis of a medical school, and the fundamental need to promote and encourage the teachers that provide this training. “This professorship is a minor step in that direction,” he said.  | Dr. Ellen B. Mendelson receives her medallion fromDrs. Eric J. Russell and J. Larry Jameson (l to r) |
The celebration was particularly special because of Dr. Rogers’ close friendship and past working relationship with Dr. Mendelson. Both he and Dr. Neiman expressed how impressed they were by her tremendous accomplishments throughout her career, in particular, her residency at Northwestern and fellowship under Dr. Neiman, then professor and section chief of vascular and interventional radiology, CT, and ultrasound. “Ellen was a star in the making—bright, intense, dedicated, and focused.” Drs. Neiman and Mendelson also worked side-by-side at the Western Pennsylvania Hospital, where they established the extremely successful residency program there. After also developing the Breast and Women’s Imaging Fellowship Program in 1986, Dr. Mendelson returned to Feinberg in 2001 to continue her tremendous work with resident and fellow education. After being presented with a medallion by both Dr. Jameson and Eric J. Russell, MD, chair of the Department of Radiology at Feinberg, Dr. Mendelson shared her own circuitous story of medical education and raising a family. She expressed her deep gratitude to Dr. Neiman for his continued support, and shared that “being the inaugural recipient of this professorship is an honor of such magnitude that it is difficult to say how much it means to me.” She went on to express her own belief—similar to Dr. Rogers’—in the importance of education and instruction. “Teaching is pure pleasure to me,” she said. In closing, Dr. Mendelson once again acknowledged her esteemed colleagues as well as her family and friends both present and absent, exclaiming “I hope to accomplish a deepening of education in radiology for the benefit of patients—thank you for the opportunity to do so.” By: Andrea Arntsen-Harris
Photo Credit: Nathan Mandell | 
