The Friedmans: A Family Making a Difference
By Rachel Moulton '97
In the late 1940s, when Stan
Friedman, MD, '53 - pediatrician, professor of pediatrics
and psychiatry, and father of three Antioch graduates - began
looking at colleges, he looked toward Antioch. He was interested
in the co-op program, and he also had two cousins who had
attended Antioch and spoke of it quite highly.
"Antioch's reputation in the 40s and 50s was interesting,"
Stan commented. "I came from a small high school where
we didn't have counselors. The faculty divided up the students.
I ended up with the principal as my counselor and the principal
did not think Antioch was a good choice." As soon as
Stan mentioned his interest, the principal stopped the conversation:
"Don't ever talk to me about Antioch again, I'm not interested
in sending you to a Communist school." The principal
was so convinced of Antioch's insidious nature that his interaction
with Stan influenced graduation that year. "The top 10
students were assigned a topic, such as sports, the arts,
or political systems," Stan explained. "They were
each asked to talk about how the United States was better
than a Communist country. I was not politically active at
the time but this, I thought, was awful. My interest in Antioch
shaped my high school graduation ceremony. Fortunately, I
did not have to speak, not being one of the top students."
Stan had chosen Antioch sight unseen.
Stan Friedman '53,
pediatrician,
professor of pediatrics and psychiatry,
and father of three Antioch graduates.
Although the transition from high school to Antioch College
was enormous, Stan did not find the "communist"
school his principal had warned him of. "It was the first
time I was challenged in school and felt I was learning something.
I found Antioch far more difficult even than my later medical
school experience. Medical school was about memorization and
Antioch was just the opposite. We had big assignments. It
wasn't uncommon to have to write a weekly composition for
multiple courses."
Stan met his first wife at Antioch, Roberta
Friedman-Borman '54. The couple then sent their three
sons to the College - Richard '76, Jeffrey
'81, Kenneth '83 - and a granddaughter - Jacqueline
Friedman Shepherd '03. That's three generations of
Friedmans who have attended Antioch College. Stan and his
second wife Esther Wender Friedman have also continued to
build bridges to the College with their generous gifts. Their
gifts have supported and continue to support the Annual Fund,
the Academic Support Center and now the Campaign for Antioch
College. Stan has also given quite generously to Glen Helen,
stating the Glen was always a wonderful resource and a place
that provided an escape from campus: "Many of my happiest
times were in the Glen."
Stan Friedman '53 and Esther
Wender Friedman standing on
their deck at their new Washington
home overlooking Puget Sound
After his BA in Psychology at Antioch, Stan Friedman earned
his medical degree from the University of Rochester and Strong
Memorial Hospital. He had his pediatric training at Massachusetts
General Hospital and, in 1962, joined the pediatric faculty
of the University of Rochester. There, he established the
Adolescent Medicine Clinic in the early 60s. Later, at the
University of Maryland, he persuaded the W.T. Grant Foundation
to fund training in behavioral pediatrics for residents -
a seed project, which later led to the funding of eleven other
such programs across the country. Most recently, he taught
and did research at the North Shore University Hospital and
then at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, both in New
York. His most important research focused upon the effects
of environmental factors on health, including a study of the
challenges facing West Point Cadets. His contributions to
the field of psychosomatic medicine are extensive, and the
path that would lead him to this prestigious work took many
new turns while he was a student at Antioch.
Stan began his Antioch career as a chemistry major and did
not consider the discipline he would eventually graduate in,
psychology, until he walked out of the chemistry lab one afternoon.
"Chemistry came easy for me, unlike physics, and I was
in Qualitative Analysis. We worked all afternoon trying to
isolate something and I dropped what we'd been working on.
The instructor wanted me to do it all over again. It just
wasn't for me." Stan left that day and signed up for
social psychology, a course he really enjoyed. Despite his
occasional clumsiness in the lab, faculty in the chemistry
department could not understand why he would leave chemistry
for psychology. He was good in chemistry, but Stan wanted
something more research oriented. The psychology department
was strong, and he was taken with the subject and the department
almost immediately.
Co-op also became a prominent part of his newly discovered
interest in psychology. "I had several very interesting
jobs. One was at Letchworth Village in the social work department.
It opened my eyes to careers in psychology and medicine and
took me to upstate New York," Stan recalled. Stan also
worked for Fran Lemcke '37, former
Dean of Students, placing first-year students in part-time
jobs and doing research on hall advising.
Medicine was a last minute decision for Stan. He was hoping
to study social psychology at the University of Michigan when
his uncle, a physician, encouraged him to become a physician.
"He persuaded me, as a favor to him, to apply to medical
school. I never thought I'd succeed in getting admitted, and
really hoped I wouldn't. But I applied and had the misfortune
of being accepted by several programs. Eventually I chose
University of Rochester."
Stan picked a medical school that had a strong behavioral
faculty, "I worked summers in the Department of Psychiatry,
which was a wonderful experience. I got to know the faculty,
who were terrific and years later we were still in contact."
Esther, Stan's second wife, is also a pediatrician, specializing
in children and adolescents with learning disabilities. She
is a former director of child health services at the Westchester
County (New York) Department of Health, and a former clinical
professor of pediatrics at the Albert Einstein College of
Medicine. Esther has focused on childhood attention deficit
disorders for the past 25 years, and her work is widely published.
As a couple, the Friedmans understand learning disabilities
from both a personal and professional perspective. Stan and
Esther's 2001 donation to the College has gone to help the
Academic Support Center (ASC) function. (See feature on ASC,
page 2.) "All my kids have a learning disability and
I do, too. I got the lowest score on vocabulary on the placement
exams at Antioch," Stan commented. Ruth Churchill, Professor
of Psychology and Education and College Examiner, accused
Stan of trying to pull a joke since he did so well on other
sections of the test. "I'm interested in kids with a
lot of talent who have learning difficulties. So when it was
suggested, by Bob Devine '67 [former
Antioch College President] that we earmark the money in that
way I said it was fine."
Stan's career in the fields of Adolescent Health Care and
Behavioral Pediatrics exemplify the highest standards of Antioch
College, and the College Alumni Association acknowledged this
with the Rebecca Rice Award in 2000 - the award recognizes
alumni who have excelled in their vocation or field of study.
He has held academic positions at the University of Rochester
School of Medicine; the University of Maryland School of Medicine;
and Cornell University Medical College. He currently holds
a faculty title of Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at the
University of Washington School of Medicine. He has received
numerous awards from various professional associations and
academic institutions. Stan has authored or co-authored over
150 research articles and chapters related to his interests.
He has been president of the Society for Adolescent Medicine,
the American Psychosomatic Society, the National SIDS Foundation,
and the first president of the Society for Behavioral Pediatrics.
His son, Kenneth, wrote to Antioch in support of his father
receiving the Rebecca Rice Award: "With typical Antioch
creativity, my father lead the creation of these fields of
medicine to address the unique convergence of factors facing
adolescents and their parents. He has spent the last 40 years
researching, publishing, and teaching in these areas, and
has literally written the book on these fields."
As mentioned above, all three of Stan's sons came to Antioch.
All three sons also became successful lawyers. When Stan is
asked about Antioch and how it might suit a friend's son or
daughter, Stan tells them that at Antioch students have to
take the initiative. "Antioch takes a lot of self discipline."
According to Stan, all three of his sons came to Antioch on
their own initiative and were in turn challenged and engaged
by the College. "There's no question in my mind. Antioch
was influential, challenging, and enjoyable to our family."
The impact the Friedmans' generosity continues to make at
Antioch is immeasurable, influencing graduates of 2004 and
beyond.
Stan and Esther, now retired, recently
moved to the Pacific Northwest where they can see Puget Sound
from their deck and are much closer to their families. Stan
focuses on gardening and fishing, and Esther continues to
teach pediatrics at the University of Washington School of
Medicine in Seattle.
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