In the 1950s, an era when osteopathic physicians were viewed by some as inferior to allopathic physicians, Murray Goldstein, D.O.’50, M.P.H., blazed trails. He was the first osteopathic physician to be appointed a commissioned medical officer in the uniformed services (the U.S. Public Health Service, in 1953); the first D.O. to achieve star rank (two-star admiral); the first admitted to a U.S. school of public health and to a fellowship at the Mayo Clinic; and the first to receive a presidential commendation, among several other “firsts.”
“Wherever I went, I always identified myself as an osteopathic physician,” he says. “That was very important to me.”
A World War II veteran and recipient of the U.S. Army’s Silver Star and Purple Heart, Goldstein also was the first D.O. appointed to an institute of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). He helped change lives and mindsets in roles including as director of the NIH National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke and of the United Cerebral Palsy Research and Educational Foundation.
“The whole world of truly enabling people with dysfunctions to become active members of society all grew out of the Cerebral Palsy Foundation,” he says.
Opening doors is a theme of Goldstein’s support of DMU, too. His gifts are unrestricted, which allows University leaders to direct his dollars to where they can have the most powerful impact.
“Having been an executive, I understand the need for resources that are available when opportunity arises,” he says.
