Dr. William Frosch (center) and Dr. Theodore Shapiro (right), with psychiatry chairman Dr. Jack Barchas.
Two distinguished members of the Department of Psychiatry—Dr. William Frosch and Dr. Theodore Shapiro—have recently joined the ranks of emeritus faculty.
To mark the occasions, the department hosted two dinner parties in their honor—for Dr. Frosch on Jan. 25 at the Century Association and for Dr. Shapiro on Feb. 1 at the Lotus Club.
"The Department of Psychiatry and the Medical College have benefited enormously from the dedication, commitment and mentorship that both Dr. Frosch and Dr. Shapiro have given to the psychiatric discipline at Cornell for over 25 years," said psychiatry chairman Dr. Jack Barchas. "Though they have now become members of the emeritus faculty, I am very pleased that they will continue to be actively involved in our educational, clinical and research programs."
Dr. William A. Frosch
Dr. Frosch has been a member of the Department of Psychiatry since 1975, when he became professor of psychiatry and vice chairman of the department. From 1991 until Dr. Barchas' appointment as chairman in 1993, Dr. Frosch served as interim chairman of the department. Previously, he had served as medical director of the Payne Whitney Clinic for more than 12 years (1978-1991).
A noted clinician, teacher and author, Dr. Frosch has published widely on topics ranging from psychopharmacology and drug abuse to obsessive compulsive disorders and depression. When LSD emerged as an illicit drug in the 1960s, he was one of the first medical scientists to study its adverse effects.
Dr. Frosch has also had a special interest in psychiatric illness and creativity. He has particularly studied the life and music of George Frideric Handel and has published many articles about the composer focusing on the relationship between Handel's personality and his music.
As a member of the emeritus faculty in psychiatry, Dr. Frosch will continue to contribute to the department's administrative and educational functions. In addition, he hopes to spend more time exploring the intersection of creativity and mental illness.
Dr. Theodore Shapiro
A specialist in child and adolescent psychiatry, Dr. Shapiro joined the Medical College in 1976 as professor of psychiatry and professor of psychiatry in pediatrics. He served as director of child and adolescent psychiatry at the Payne Whitney Clinic from 1976 until this year, when he became emeritus. Since 1995, he had also served as vice chairman of the Department of Psychiatry.
The author/co-author of more than 200 published articles and chapters, and five books that he authored or co-authored, Dr. Shapiro began his career as a children's psychopharmacological investigator, which led to a major research interest in developmental disorders such as autism, where communication deficits are prominent. He is also a psychoanalyst and has participated in research on psycotherapy. He was editor of the Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association from 1984 to 1993. He has served as chairman of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology's Committee on Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and has also served on many NIMH committees for research on child psychiatry.
Dr. Shapiro will continue to practice as a member of Weill Cornell's Physician Organization, and he will continue to teach residents training in child and adolescent psychiatry as well as other resident staff. He will also continue as director of the Sackler Clinical Infant Psychiatry Program in Weill Cornell's Sackler Institute for Developmental Psychobiology.
He hopes to complement these activities with more time spent on writing, and looks forward to spending more time with his family.