Martha Tracy
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Martha Tracy (April 10, 1876 – March 22, 1942) served as dean of the Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania (WMCP) from 1917 to 1940, leading the institution through the
Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...
. She created a department of
preventive medicine Preventive healthcare, or prophylaxis, is the application of healthcare measures to prevent diseases.Hugh R. Leavell and E. Gurney Clark as "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life, and promoting physical and mental health a ...
within the college and was the first professor of preventive medicine at WMC. Beginning in the mid-1920s, Tracy rallied support to build a new hospital and college, raising $1.5 million over five years and opening a new building in East Falls, Philadelphia in 1930. In 1940, she joined the
City of Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
as assistant director of Health.


Early life and education

Martha Tracy was the youngest of nine children of first cousins Martha Sherman (Greene) Tracy and Jeremiah Evarts Tracy. She was the cousin of Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania alumna Dr. Elizabeth Follansbee, the niece of Senator William Maxwell Evarts, the granddaughter of
Jeremiah Evarts Jeremiah F. Evarts (February 3, 1781 – May 10, 1831), also known by the pen name William Penn, was a Christians, Christian missionary, reformer, and activist for the rights of American Indians in the United States, and a leading opponent of the ...
and the great-great-granddaughter of founding father
Roger Sherman Roger Sherman (April 19, 1721 – July 23, 1793) was an early American politician, lawyer, and a Founding Father of the United States. He is the only person to sign all four great state papers of the United States: the Continental Association, ...
. Tracy attended Plainfield Seminary for Young Ladies and Children. She studied at
Bryn Mawr College Bryn Mawr College ( ; Welsh language, Welsh: ) is a Private college, private Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded as a ...
from 1894 to 1898, where she was captain of the basketball team for three years and president of the College Athletic Association for one year, while earning her Bachelor of Arts degree. She attended the Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania, taking classes with chemistry professor Henry Leffmann among others. She graduated in 1904 as a medical doctor. In 1904, Tracy went to Cornell Medical College in New York as a graduate student, doing laboratory research. There she developed a method of preparing Coley's Fluid for Dr. William Coley, who advocated the use of dead bacteria as a possible treatment for
cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...
. Tracy grew two bacteria separately, ''
Streptococcus pyogenes ''Streptococcus pyogenes'' is a species of Gram-positive, aerotolerant bacteria in the genus '' Streptococcus''. These bacteria are extracellular, and made up of non-motile and non-sporing cocci (round cells) that tend to link in chains. They ...
'' in sterilized beef broth in an incubator and ''
Serratia marcescens ''Serratia marcescens'' () is a species of bacillus (shape), rod-shaped, Gram-negative bacteria in the family Yersiniaceae. It is a facultative anaerobe and an opportunistic pathogen in humans. It was discovered in 1819 by Bartolomeo Bizio in Pa ...
'' on sterilized
agar Agar ( or ), or agar-agar, is a jelly-like substance consisting of polysaccharides obtained from the cell walls of some species of red algae, primarily from " ogonori" and " tengusa". As found in nature, agar is a mixture of two components, t ...
solution exposed to indirect sunlight. They were prepared, mixed together, and sterilized. Tracy was able to measure the concentration of ''Serratia'' in the resulting fluid using nitrogen determination.


Academic career

In 1907, Tracy became an associate professor of chemistry at the Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania, working under Dr. Henry Leffman. She also continued to do laboratory research independently with support from the Huntingdon Fund for Cancer Research. In 1908, she became the first woman member of the American Association for Cancer Research ( AACR), which had been founded a year earlier. From 1911 to 1913 Tracy spent a year on leave of absence from WMC, studying Physiological Chemistry at
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 ...
. She returned to Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania in 1913 to rank as a full professor of physiological chemistry in the department of Physiological Chemistry. While teaching, Tracy studied Public Health and Preventive Medicine at the
University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...
. In 1917, she was awarded a doctorate in public hygiene by the University of Pennsylvania.


Deanship

In 1917, Martha Tracy was selected as the seventh dean of the Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania, succeeding Clara Marshall. She served in this position until 1940. In addition to the deanship, she took over professor Leffmann's course in hygiene in 1917, which she taught until 1931. During her time as dean, Tracy expanded the department's offerings in
social medicine Social medicine is an interdisciplinary field that focuses on the profound interplay between socio-economic factors and individual health outcomes. Rooted in the challenges of the Industrial Revolution, it seeks to: # Understand how specific soci ...
, envisioning a program that would address the broad range of topics "which especially claim the attention of women physicians." Tracy rallied support to build a new hospital and college, raising $1.5 million from 1925 to 1930, and opening a new building in East Falls, Philadelphia in 1930. Sarah Logan Wister Starr, a Philadelphia socialite and philanthropist, was active in raising funds for the new building. In 1931, Tracy recruited Sarah I. Morris to teach preventive medicine. Tracy created a four-year curriculum in preventive medicine that included field trips to factories, sewage plants, and water works. Students had to write a senior thesis in the area of prevention. Tracy was not afraid to support controversial issues as thesis topics, such as a student's choice of "medical services in the
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
," during a period when there was much suspicion in the United States about communism. In 1932, with support from the National American Woman Suffrage Association, Tracy established a health clinic offering services to "women of moderate means," now known as the Anna Howard Shaw Health Service for Women. In response to the
Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...
, former graduates, faculty, and trustees of the medical college carried out a successful emergency fundraising campaign. Although the college briefly lost its "acceptable" rating from the
American Medical Association The American Medical Association (AMA) is an American professional association and lobbying group of physicians and medical students. This medical association was founded in 1847 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Membership was 271,660 ...
in 1935, it regained it by 1937.


Assistant Director of Health

From 1936 to 1940, in addition to her positions at WMC, Tracy served on the Philadelphia Board of Health. In 1940, nearing mandatory retirement age at WMC, she was appointed by the
City of Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
as assistant director of Health. After the Japanese
attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Empire of Japan on the United States Pacific Fleet at Naval Station Pearl Harbor, its naval base at Pearl Harbor on Oahu, Territory of ...
in December 1941, Tracy began to organize Civilian Defense Squads throughout the city as the United States prepared for war. On the way home from an evening meeting, she became chilled. She died of
pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...
on March 22, 1942, in the hospital of the Women's Medical College. Burial took place at Hillside Cemetery in
Plainfield, New Jersey Plainfield is a City (New Jersey), city in Union County, New Jersey, Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Nicknamed "The Queen City",
.


Honors

* In 1908 Martha Tracy was selected as the first female member of the
American Association for Cancer Research The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) is the world's oldest and largest professional association related to cancer research. Based in Philadelphia, the AACR focuses on all aspects of cancer research, including Basic research, basic, ...
. * She was elected president of the American Medical Women's Association, serving one term from 1920 to 1921. * In 1923, she became a Fellow of the American College of Physicians. * In 1934, she was the second woman physician to become a Fellow of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia.


References


External links


WM.SC.421
Martha Tracy papers, 1850–1948, Drexel University College of Medicine, Legacy Center: Archives and Special Collections on Women in Medicine and Homeopathy
WMCP.R.293
George A. Hay collection of administrative files of the Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania, 1890–1970, bulk 1925–1965. Drexel University College of Medicine, Legacy Center: Archives and Special Collections on Women in Medicine and Homeopathy {{DEFAULTSORT:Tracy, Martha 1876 births 1942 deaths American women chemists 20th-century American women scientists American physicians People in public health Academic administration Deaths from pneumonia in Pennsylvania