Noted Psychiatrist Dr. David Hamburg to Head U.N. Genocide Prevention Advisory Group

Dr. David Hamburg


NEW YORK (June 12, 2006) — Noted psychiatrist Dr. David Hamburg has been appointed by Secretary General Kofi Annan to chair the newly formed United Nations Advisory Committee on Genocide Prevention. The committee will provide guidance and support to the work of the Secretary General's Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, Juan E. Méndez, and contribute to the broader efforts of the U.N. to avert massive crimes against humanity. Dr. Hamburg is a DeWitt Wallace Distinguished Scholar at Weill Medical College of Cornell University and president emeritus of the Carnegie Corporation.

Others appointed to the committee include Nobel Peace Prize-winner Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa; Roméo Dallaire of Canada, former Force commander of the U.N. Assistance Mission for Rwanda; Sadako Ogata of Japan, former High Commissioner for Refugees; and other distinguished advisers in human rights, peacekeeping and diplomacy.

"Dr. Hamburg's extensive background in psychiatry, medicine and public health informs his unique approach toward eliminating genocide by preventing genocide," says Dr. Jack Barchas, the Barklie McKee Henry Professor and chairman of the Department of Psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medical College and psychiatrist-in-chief of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, including the Payne Whitney Clinic in Manhattan and Westchester.

"David Hamburg is a wise and tireless activist in the cause of peace," says Vartan Gregorian, president of Carnegie Corporation of New York. "His history of leadership in the fields of research and public policy, and his preventive orientation to serious global problems, make him the ideal choice for this prestigious appointment. I congratulate him on this highly deserved honor."

Dr. David Hamburg


A psychiatrist with a history of leadership in the fields of public policy, research and behavioral science, Dr. Hamburg has long brought his preventive orientation to bear on serious global problems. It was during his tenure as president of the Carnegie Corporation, from 1982 to 1997, that it embarked on an intense pursuit of peace in potential conflict situations. The Carnegie Commission on Preventing Deadly Conflict (CCPDC), which Dr. Hamburg co-chaired with former Secretary of State Cyrus Vance, endorsed a three-part strategy of prevention — early response, counteracting of risk factors and resolution of fundamental causes of violence. Through its reports, analyses and conferences, CCPDC helped to make the prevention of deadly conflict a priority concern for the United Nations and the wider global community.

Dr. Hamburg has served numerous roles, among them chief of the adult psychiatry branch, National Institutes of Health, 1958 to 1961; professor and chairman of the department of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Stanford University, 1961 to 1972; Reed-Hodgson Professor of Human Biology at Stanford University, 1972 to 1976; president of the Institute of Medicine, National Academy of Sciences, 1975 to1980; and director of the division of health policy research and education and John D. MacArthur Professor of Health Policy at Harvard University, 1980 to 1983. He served as president and then chairman of the board (1984 to 1986) of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Dr. Hamburg was a member of the United States Defense Policy Board with Secretary of Defense William Perry, and was co-chair with former Secretary of State Cyrus Vance of the Carnegie Commission on Preventing Deadly Conflict. He was a member of President Clinton's Committee of Advisors on Science and Technology and a visiting professor at Harvard Medical School's department of social medicine. He was the founder of the Carnegie Commission on Science, Technology and Government.

Dr. Hamburg received both his A.B. and M.D. degrees from Indiana University. He has received numerous honorary degrees during his career, as well as the American Psychiatric Association's Distinguished Service Award in 1991, the Presidential Medal of Freedom at the White House in 1996, the International Peace Academy's 25th Anniversary Special Award in 1996, the Society for Research in Child Development's Achievement in Children and Public Policy Award in 1997, and the National Academy of Sciences' Public Welfare Medal in 1998. Dr. Hamburg is currently writing a book "Never Again: Practical Steps Towards Prevention of Genocide," to be published by Oxford University Press in 2007.

Carnegie Corporation


Andrew Carnegie created Carnegie Corporation of New York in 1911 to promote "the advancement and diffusion of knowledge and understanding." As a grant-making foundation, the Corporation seeks to carry out Carnegie's vision of philanthropy, which he said should aim "to do real and permanent good in the world." The Corporation's capital fund, originally donated at a value of about $135 million, had a market value of $2.2 billion on Sept. 30, 2005. The Corporation awards grants totaling more than $80 million a year in the areas of education, international peace and security, international development and strengthening U.S. democracy.

The Joan and Sanford I. Weill Medical College


The Joan and Sanford I. Weill Medical College — located in New York City — is committed to excellence in research, teaching, patient care and the advancement of the art and science of medicine. The Medical College, a principal academic affiliate of the NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, offers an innovative curriculum that integrates the teaching of basic and clinical sciences, problem-based learning, office-based preceptorships, and primary care and doctoring courses. Physicians and scientists of Weill Cornell Medical College are engaged in cutting-edge research in such areas as stem cells, genetics and gene therapy, geriatrics, neuroscience, structural biology, cardio- vascular biology, AIDS, cancer and psychiatry — and continue to delve ever-deeper into the molecular basis of disease in an effort to unlock the mysteries behind the human body and the malfunctions that result in serious medical disorders. Weill Cornell Medical College is the birthplace of many medical advances — from the development of the Pap test for cervical cancer to the synthesis of penicillin, the first successful embryo-biopsy pregnancy and birth in the U.S., and most recently, the world's first clinical trial for gene therapy for Parkinson's disease. Weill Cornell's Physician Organization includes 650 clinical faculty, who provide the highest quality of care to patients.
Leslie Greenberg
leg2003@med.cornell.edu

Weill Cornell Medicine
Office of External Affairs
Phone: (646) 962-9476