Alfalfa to Ivy

Joseph B. Martin traces his climb from a Mennonite farm in the village of Duchess, Alberta to Dean of Harvard Medical School in his memoir, Alfalfa to Ivy. Readers are rewarded with an intimate perspective on academic politics and health care in Canada and the U.S. that Martin is perfectly poised to critique. And it is the human story of Martin's journey from humble origins to worldly esteem that makes Alfalfa to Ivy a compelling narrative for non-specialists as well as academics and professionals. Foreword by David Hubel. Afterword by Ed Benz. Inspiring autobiography of a Western-Canadian Mennonite's determined rise to become Dean of Harvard Medical School. The human story of Joseph Martin's journey from rural origins to highly regarded leader makes Alfalfa to Ivy a compelling read. His deep-seated Mennonite values guided him with humility and optimism through tumultuous changes in modern medicine-changes that he helped guide while serving as Dean of Medicine and Chancellor of the University of California, San Francisco Medical School and, later, Dean of Harvard Medical School. His in-depth experience leaves Martin perfectly poised to evaluate academic politics and health care in Canada and in the United States. "This book is a must read for anyone interested in the radical evolution of medicine in the United States that began in the second half of the twentieth century." -Dr. Eric Kandel, 2000 Nobel Laureate in Physiology or Medicine "Joe Martin's career confronted all the major issues of medicine and health care. He experienced the glories of research, the complexities of institutional relationships, the unsustainable health care system, and the strain of political pressures." -John Dirks, President and Scientific Director, The Gairdner Foundation Joseph B. Martin grew up near the village of Duchess, Alberta. He received his MD from the University of Alberta in 1962. He served for ten years as the Dean of the Faculty of Medicine at Harvard University before stepping down in 2007. Joseph Martin is currently the Edward R. and Anne G. Lefler Professor of Neurobiology at Harvard Medical School. 40 B&W photographs, 6 maps, foreword, afterword, notes, index The memoir of one of the great minds in the world of academic medicine, Joseph B. Martin, has been released by The University of Alberta Press. Alfalfa to Ivy: Memoir of a Harvard Medical School Dean (www.alfalfatoivy.com), is a beautifully written, intricately researched memoir that details Dr. Martin's journey from rural origins to one of the most highly regarded and influential voices of his generation as Dean of Medicine and Chancellor of the University of California, San Francisco Medical School and later as Dean of Harvard Medical School. As Dean at Harvard, Martin led the efforts to re-design the entire medical school curriculum." Brookline Patch, [Full article at http://bit.ly/vaJqvJ] "Martin's deanship has been heralded for unifying a fragmented HMS, improving communication, encouraging collaboration, and diversifying departments, all while leading the School under three very different Harvard presidencies.... Martin stepped down in 2007, after a decade-long tenure highlighted by Martin and his team successfully locating the gene for Huntington's disease, an extraordinary moment for him." Sarah Sweeney, Harvard Gazette, December 15, 2011 "In this autobiography [Martin] discusses the radical evolution of medicine in the United States and the roles played by medical research and medical schools." Alberta History "[Dr. Joseph B. Martin] has written a compelling personal history of U.S. academic medicine since the 1970s that honestly confronts many of the controversies and conflicts afflicting our medical system, especially the conflicts of interest between American medicine and the industrial medical complex.... The book is Alfalfa to Ivy and it's well worth a read for any serious student of U.S. health policy." John McDonough, Boston.com, May 20, 2012 [Full article at h