Millennium Magazine_5th Ed

108 Millennium - A Marquis Who’s Who Magazine B ecoming a doctor was seen as one of the most prestigious professions growing up in South Carolina, and Dr. Robert Layton McCurdy felt inspired to follow that path. He graduated with an MD from the University of South Carolina in 1960. He then completed an internship at the Medical University ROBERT LAYTON MCCURDY, MD DISTINGUISHED PROFESSOR Medical University of South Carolina Charleston, SC EDUCATION of South Carolina (MUSC) in 1961 and went on to complete a residency in psychiatry at North Carolina Memorial Hospital in 1964. Additionally, Dr. McCurdy was a psychoanalytic trainee at the Columbia University Psychoanalytic Clinic’s Atlanta Branch from 1967 to 1968. Prior to beginning his career in the medical field, from 1966 to 1968, Dr. McCurdy was a commissioned officer, ranked as lieutenant, with the U.S. Public Health Service. In the present day, Dr. McCurdy has been a distinguished professor at MUSC since 2004. With the university, he has also been dean emeritus, a professor of psychiatry and an adjunct professor of behavioral sciences. From 1982 to 1990, Dr. McCurdy notably served as psychiatrist-in-chief at the Institute of Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia, and he has additionally been a professor at the University of Pennsylvania, visiting colleague at the University of London and assistant professor at Emory University. For his excellence in his field, Dr. McCurdy was the recipient of the Humanitarian Award by La Societe Francaise in 2002, the Earl B. Higgins Diversity Achievement Award from MUSC in 1999 and the Bowis Award from the American College of Psychiatrists in 1997. Dr. McCurdy is proud of the relationships made through his career, and he feels fulfilled when he encounters people whom he has helped improve their lives. Dr. McCurdy credits his wife of over 60 years, Gwendolyn, as his biggest inspiration and mentor. He also thanks three psychiatrists – Arthur Prange, Morey Lipton and Francis de Marneff – for their influences on him. Over the years, Dr. McCurdy has been involved with the American College of Psychiatrists, the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, the Association for Academic Psychiatry, the South Carolina Higher Education Commission, the Royal College of Psychiatrists and the American Psychiatric Association.