Former APA President Dies
Jerry M. Wiener, M.D., who was president of APA for the 1994-95 term, died in Washington, D.C., on September 7 at age 69 after a heart attack.
Wiener was a leader in the field of child psychiatry and served as president of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry from 1987 to 1989. In the 1970s he chaired the psychiatry department at Children’s Hospital in Washington, D.C. He also headed the department of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at George Washington University (GWU) School of Medicine for 20 years until he retired in 1997 with the title professor emeritus.
During his two decades as chair of psychiatry at GWU, “Jerry was highly committed to and invested in the personal and professional growth of medical students, residents, and his junior faculty,” commented Jeffrey Akman, M.D., who succeeded Wiener as chair of that department. “Whether as faculty advisor, supervisor, teacher, or therapist, Jerry’s door was always open to medical students and residents.”
In the early 1980s Wiener served as president of the Association of Chairmen of Departments of Psychiatry.
Wiener wrote extensively about psychiatric disorders in children and adolescents and was editor in chief of The Textbook of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.
Wiener served APA in several capacities over his career. He was chair of the American Psychiatric Press Inc. Board of Directors from 1994 to 2000. He also was a member of the Council on Children, Adolescents, and Their Families and served on the Joint Commission on Government Relations. Most recently, he was appointed to the search committee that identified candidates to be the new APA medical director.
In 2000 APA presented him with its Agnes Purcell McGavin Award for distinguished achievement in child and adolescent psychiatry.
“Jerry Wiener shone as a person whose dedication to principle was unwavering,” Akman said. He was “uncompromisingly persistent in pursuing what was right.”
Wiener is survived by his wife, four sons, and two brothers. ▪
