Historical Resources Center

Legacies

Dr. Mendelsohn talks about his bold vision for MD Anderson
Dr. Mendelsohn recalls a drive to the Texas Medical Center
Full Oral History Interview
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MD Anderson obituary

Dr. Mendelsohn with his wife, Anne.

"In 1996, ironically, there was a downsizing going on …. To me and to the faculty, this didn’t make sense. We knew where cancer was going. We knew about the exciting developments that were occurring. We knew that this couldn’t be led and pioneered in an average hospital. It had to be pioneered in a place that had the kind of assets that MD Anderson had, a large faculty with protected time to do research and a total commitment to the very best standard of care…. We decided to ignore these consultants. We had committees to do the vision statement. It was bold. “We shall be the premier cancer center.” We talked a lot about that. We were number two. “Do you want to put that in writing?” “Yes.” “Based on the excellence of our people, our research-driven patient care, and our science.”

John Mendelsohn, M.D.

Dr. John Mendelsohn presents Dr. Frederick Becker
with the Charles A. LeMaistre Outstanding Achievement
Award in Cancer, October 1996

"John Mendelsohn is one of my heroes. I think that he really is a superb leader. Over the fifteen or so years that he was president, John grew MD Anderson into the footprint that exists today. He accomplished that in some pretty turbulent times. John was not only a champion for research, he had deep respect for patient care and realized that our clinical enterprise must be strong. He understood the importance of surgery as an important front door for the institution. He recruited strong clinicians and expanded translational research."

Robert Bast, MD
VP for Translational Research