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  LabNotes
Volume 11, No. 2, Fall 01 | Return to Table of Contents


The MBL’s Board of Trustees Appoints Dr. William T. Speck Director and Chief Executive Officer

He will serve as the Laboratory’s 13th Director


A pediatrician by training, Speck first came to the MBL in the 1970s to conduct research on the effects of drugs and environmental pollutants on developing embryos. He is a member of the MBL Corporation and has served on the Laboratory’s Board of Trustees since 1994. He was a key volunteer in the Laboratory’s recently completed $41 million Discovery Campaign, and has also served as chair of the MBL’s Development Committee. In August 2000, Speck joined the staff of the MBL as its Interim Director and CEO.

“Dr. Speck’s effectiveness and commitment to the Laboratory has been a great asset since he agreed to step in as Interim Director,” said Sheldon J. Segal, Chairman of the Board of Trustees. “We feel fortunate to have a Director with his experience and talents to lead the MBL as we build new and exciting programs in both research and education.”

Speck received his B.A. from Rutgers University and his M.D. from the Wake Forest University School of Medicine. After completing his residency and fellowship training at Columbia University, he obtained a joint appointment in the Departments of Pediatrics and Microbiology. After three years he moved to the Department of Pediatrics at Case Western Reserve University, where he directed the Division of Infectious Diseases and house staff education and subsequently served as Professor and later Chairman and Director of the Department of Pediatrics. In addition, in 1982 he was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital, an appointment he held for ten years.

In 1992 he moved to New York to become the President and CEO of the Presbyterian Hospital, a position he held until 1999, when the hospital merged with New York Hospital and its regional healthcare system, creating the largest academic healthcare delivery system in the United States. Following the merger, Speck worked with the Massachusetts General Hospital’s Department of Pediatrics to develop a regional children’s healthcare system. In August 2000, he joined the staff of the Marine Biological Laboratory as Interim Director and CEO.

“Dr. Speck brings a unique set of perspectives to the Director’s position, having been an active member of the MBL summer research community, a member of the Corporation and Board of Trustees, an M.D., and the leader of some of the country’s most distinguished research and teaching hospitals,” said Segal.“We are pleased to have him at the helm of the Marine Biological Laboratory.”

LabNotes is published by the Communications Office. Comments and suggestions are welcome. Call (508) 289-7423 or e-mail us at comm@mbl.edu