Lyman Maynard Stowe (March 14, 1914 – June 2, 1965) was an American

physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...

and

academic administrator Academic administration is a branch of university or college employees responsible for the maintenance and supervision of the institution and separate from the faculty or academics, although some personnel may have joint responsibilities. Some ...

. He served as the first dean of the University of Connecticut School of Medicine. The Lyman Maynard Stowe Library at the UConn Health Center was named in his honor.

Early life and education

Stowe was born in

Hartford Hartford is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

, on March 14, 1914. Graduating from Loomis Chaffee School in 1930, he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

in 1934 and an

M.D. A Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated MD, from the Latin ) is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the ''MD'' denotes a professional degree of physician. This ge ...

from

Yale School of Medicine The Yale School of Medicine is the medical school of Yale University, a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was founded in 1810 as the Medical Institution of Yale College and formally opened in 1813. It is the sixth-oldest m ...

in 1938. He specialized in

obstetrics and gynecology Obstetrics and gynaecology (also spelled as obstetrics and gynecology; abbreviated as Obst and Gynae, O&G, OB-GYN and OB/GYN) is the medical specialty that encompasses the two subspecialties of obstetrics (covering pregnancy, childbirth, and t ...

. He spent two years as a rotating intern and resident at the

Jersey City Medical Center The Jersey City Medical Center is a hospital in Jersey City, New Jersey. The hospital has had different facilities in the city. It is currently located on a 15-acre campus at Grand Street and Jersey Avenue overlooking New York Harbor and Libe ...

before returning to

New Haven New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is the third largest city in Co ...

for a year-long residency in pathology in 1940.

Career

Upon completing his residencies in Jersey City and New Haven, Stowe next served as a teaching fellow in obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Minnesota Hospital from 1941 to 1944, when he enlisted in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

during World War II. He served for two years and received an honorable discharge at the rank of lieutenant in 1946. He served on board the USS ''Effingham'' when the ship engaged in the

Battle of Okinawa The , codenamed Operation Iceberg, was a major battle of the Pacific War fought on the island of Okinawa Island, Okinawa by United States Army and United States Marine Corps forces against the Imperial Japanese Army during the Pacific War, Impe ...

. On leaving the Navy, Stowe spent a final year at Minnesota before rejoining his alma mater, Yale School of Medicine, as an instructor in obstetrics and gynecology from 1947 to 1949. In 1949, Stowe became an assistant professor at the

Stanford University School of Medicine The Stanford University School of Medicine is the medical school of Stanford University and is located in Stanford, California, United States. It traces its roots to the Medical Department of the University of the Pacific, founded in San Fra ...

, where he was promoted to associate professor in 1955. He became Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at the Stanford Medical School, where he oversaw research and the curriculum and participated in a major study of medical education for the California Coordinating Committee on Higher Education. He published in academic journals such as ''Obstetrics & Gynecology'', '' American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology'', and ''Journal of Medical Education''. Stowe became the first dean of UConn's new medical school in Farmington in May 1963, only two years after the

Connecticut General Assembly The Connecticut General Assembly (CGA) is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is a bicameral body composed of the 151-member House of Representatives and the 36-member Senate. It meets in the state capital, Hartford. The ...

authorized the establishment of a state medical center. Stowe recruited William Fleeson, assistant dean at the University of Minnesota, and John Patterson, dean at the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a Public university, public research university with campuses near University of British Columbia Vancouver, Vancouver and University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, in British Columbia, Canada ...

, as the UConn medical school's first faculty to help him build the program. Stowe espoused progressive ideas on medical education. He streamlined laboratories so that students could conduct all their lab work in the same spaces, promoted a focus on holistic medicine, and advocated for new doctors to move more quickly through their residencies and for promising students to advance to medical training at a younger age. He also published an academic journal article on Stanford's progressive approach. Stowe was a member of the

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is a United States–based international nonprofit with the stated mission of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsib ...

and the American Society for Clinical Research. He consulted for the medical schools at the universities of

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

Brown Brown is a color. It can be considered a composite color, but it is mainly a darker shade of orange. In the CMYK color model used in printing and painting, brown is usually made by combining the colors Orange (colour), orange and black. In the ...

, Buffalo,

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

Louisville Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...

, and

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

Death and legacy

Stowe suffered a heart attack at his Farmington home in the early hours of June 2, 1965. He died soon afterward at Hartford Hospital. He was 51 years old. He was survived by his wife of 27 years, Lois Schneider Stowe, and their three sons: Maynard, David, and John. John Patterson succeeded him as UConn medical school dean. The Lyman Maynard Stowe Library at the UConn Health Center was named in his honor. UConn Health also issues the Lyman Stowe Award for Patient Care and the Lyman Stowe Award for humanitarianism in medicine.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stowe, Lyman Maynard 1914 births 1965 deaths Physicians from Hartford, Connecticut Loomis Chaffee School alumni Yale School of Medicine alumni American gynecologists American obstetricians American academic administrators Stanford University School of Medicine faculty University of Connecticut faculty Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science United States Navy personnel of World War II United States Navy officers 20th-century American academics