College of Medicine Honors
a Legacy with Portrait

WASHINGTON, DC, May 28, 2009—Those who knew him say he was brilliant, “a near genius.”

He was a courageous physician, fearless researcher, generous teacher and mentor, devoted husband and father, boundless spirit and true son of Howard University, they recalled.

So, they came to honor him, Dr. Alfred Lloyd Goldson, the outstanding radiation oncologist, professor and former chair of the Howard University College Department of Radiation Oncology, with the unveiling of a portrait of him. Additionally, the College of Medicine announced a fundraising drive to raise $1.5 million for an endowed chair in his honor.

Dr. Goldson, at 33, was the youngest person to chair a department at Howard University when he took over the reins of radiation oncology in 1980. A researcher and author, he trained numerous radiation oncologists and radiation therapists. His work with the underserved populations went beyond the walls of Howard and into countries like Tanzania, Liberia and Haiti.

Dr. Goldson’s research career included several innovative therapeutic approaches in radiation oncology. He was one of the original investigators to develop clinical applications and dose schemes for High-Dose Rate Cobalt-60 Brachytherapy techniques for cervical cancer. He was the first radiation oncologist to simultaneously combine intraoperative radiotherapy with intraoperative interstitial hyperthermia for pancreatic cancer.

He authored over 50 articles, 20 abstracts and 10 book chapters and received over two million dollars in research grants. President Bill Clinton appointed him to the National Cancer Advisory Board in 1994.

He had an unparalleled zest for life. He was an accomplished swimmer and scuba diver. He enjoyed boating, skiing, golf and tennis. And he especially enjoyed spending time with his wife, Amy R. Goldson, his daughters and friends.

Dr. Goldson died Feb. 7, 2004, 10 days after suffering a heart attack in Rhinelander, Wis. He was 57. He was there to establish a new Department of Radiation Oncology for the Ministry Medical Group/St Mary’s Hospital.

A graduate of Howard University and its College of Medicine, Dr. Goldson completed his residency training at Howard University Hospital under Dr. Ulrich K. Henschke, his mentor, who he pulled from a burning airplane following a crash while they and other physicians were studying cervical and skin cancer in Tanzania.

Dr. Robert H. Williams, a senior attending physician at Howard University Hospital and a faculty member in the Department of Community and Family Medicine at the medical school, said Goldson was a singular individual.

“He was multi-talented, a near genius of a person in terms of being a physician, a visionary, a blazing star, ” Dr. Williams said, “Not only was he an extraordinary physician, he was an outstanding personality.”

Dr. Robert Dewitty, associate professor of surgery at Howard University College of Medicine, met Dr. Goldson when they were students at the college in 1968“and we were together almost continuously until his death,” he said.

“We became very close throughout medical school and became even closer during our professional years,” Dr. Dewitty said. “He was innovative in that he started a technique used around the world for radiation therapy. He was compassionate and very sensitive, a very close colleague and friend. He was the brother I never had.”

Dr. Oscar E. Streeter, the current professor and chair of the Department of Radiation Oncology and a former resident under Dr. Goldson, commissioned the portrait as a tribute to his mentor for all the work he had done for the university and the profession.

“As chairman of the Department of Radiation Oncology, Dr. Goldson, along with his colleagues, was responsible for the training of scores of residents who in many cases would not have had the opportunity to become radiation oncologist, and therefore would not have the opportunity to participate in a field that was often closed to minorities,” said Dr. Streeter, who traveled to Haiti as a resident on a research project with Dr. Goldson.

“He was a vanguard, respected by the National Cancer Institute and physicians world-wide for his pioneering work. He truly is a great son of Howard.”

Amy R. Goldson, a Washington attorney, said she thought her late husband would have been quite pleased by the honor. She attended the unveiling with their daughters, Erin, who graduated this year from the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, and Ava, who is entering her junior year at Spelman College in Atlanta.

“For Dr. Alfred Goldson, Howard University was his life,” she said. “He was dedicated to treating patients, teaching students and engaging in invaluable research in his effort toward improving the lives of countless numbers of people and eradicating cancer. The portrait is a fitting memorial of the wonderful legacy that he has left behind.”

Dr. Streeter noted that the portrait, which hangs in the conference room of the Department of Radiation Oncology, would keep Dr. Goldson’s legacy alive.

“The proverb says ‘No one is truly dead until forgotten,’” he said. “That will not be the fate of my teacher and friend, the husband and father that was Dr. Alfred L. Goldson.”

To contribute to the Dr. Alfred L. Goldson Chair, which will concentrate on innovations in radiation and reducing health disparities in cancer care, contact Karine Sewell at 202.238.2565 or email ksewell@howard.edu.

	Click image to enlarge
Dr. Alfred Goldson’s family, from left, his daughters, Erin and Ava, his widow, Amy R. Goldson, and his mother-in-law, Emily Robertson, BA ’46, said he would have been pleased with the portrait.
Dr. Oscar Streeter, professor and chair of the Department of Radiology Oncology right and members of Dr. Alfred Goldson’s family unveil his commemorative portrait at Louis Stokes Health Sciences Library. The portrait was painted by Joseph Daniel Clipper.