Dermatology Foundation

GEORGE W. CRANE, JR., M.D., NAMED 2000 DERMATOLOGY FOUNDATION CLARK W. FINNERUD AWARDEE

Dr. George W. Crane, Jr. was the second person to be appointed in Dermatology when the University of North Carolina changed from a two-year to a four-year school and North Carolina Memorial Hospital at Chapel Hill opened its doors in 1952. For the next 41 years, Dr. Crane came one half-day each week from his private practice office in Durham to teach dermatology and dermatologic surgery to medical students and residents.

For this selfless service, Dr. Crane will be honored as the 2000 Clark W. Finnerud Award recipient on Saturday, March 3, at the annual meeting of the Dermatology Foundation during the AAD Annual Meeting in Washington, DC.

The Award is named for the late Clark W. Finnerud, M.D., a member of the faculty at Chicago’s Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke’s Medical Center for 47 years, and is intended to honor a dermatologist whose contributions as a clinical educator are exemplary. Dr. Finnerud’s generous financial support helped launch the Dermatology Foundation in 1964, and the Trustees created the named Award in 1971.

Dr. Crane received his M.D. degree from Northwestern University School of Medicine in 1946 and completed his Dermatology residency at Duke University. In 1952, he joined the medical faculties of the University of North Carolina and Duke Medical School. He retired from the University of North Carolina as Clinical Professor of Dermatology in 1994.

A colleague who nominated Dr. Crane observed, "As the training program in Dermatology developed, Dr. Crane spent more and more time teaching dermatology residents. From 1972 on, after Dermatology at UNC became a separate Department, he was essentially spending all of his time at UNC teaching dermatologic surgery to dermatology residents." The same colleague noted that Dr. Crane taught 33 generations of residents and was, for most of these residents, the only faculty member who was teaching dermatologic surgery.

His contributions to the Department of Dermatology at UNC were recognized 10 years ago when his colleagues and former students established the Dr. George W. Crane, Jr. Lectureship in Dermatologic Surgery.

Dr. Crane served as president of the North Carolina Medical Society Section of Dermatology in 1976 and was very active in the Continuing Medical Education programs at Watts Hospital in Durham for many years.

The Dermatology Foundation was created in 1964 by a group of concerned dermatologists in order to advance patient care through research. The nonprofit organization raises funds from members of the specialty and the cosmetic and pharmaceutical industry to support a broad-based program of research investigations, clinical and scientific publications and Continuing Medical Education programs for today’s dermatologists.

The Foundation is second only to the federal government as a source of funding for dermatologic research that addresses both medical and surgical practice concerns.

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