The Reporter: Oct 1994, Vol.5, No.3
Retired Professor Honors Husband Through Gift

Dr. Ruth Guttmann, professor emeritus of radiology, has honored her late husband by establishing the Thomas S. Zimmer Professorship of Reconstructive Surgery at P&S for a leader in the field of reconstructive surgery. Dr. Guttmann has asked that the professorship be held by a surgeon with a primary interest and expertise in post- traumatic injury and reconstruction of congenital anomalies.

Dr. Zimmer was born in Germany, where he was trained as a physician. He was a pioneer in reconstructive surgery and is credited with the first successful reattachment of a severed arm, known among his colleagues as the "Zimmer arm." He was a highly regarded surgeon who practiced in Berlin before leaving for the United States in 1935. He was a general surgeon in New York City until retiring in 1965.

Dr. Guttmann, also born and trained in Germany, was appointed assistant professor of radiology at P&S in 1953 while serving as an associate in radiotherapy at the Francis Delafield Hospital, a city hospital administered by P&S. She directed the Department of Radiotherapy and Nuclear Medicine at Delafield and was professor of radiology at P&S until retiring in 1976.

The endowed Zimmer professorship for a senior faculty member honors Dr. Guttmann's husband and his life's work and recognizes the college's ongoing commitment to advance research in new and innovative surgical techniques. Dr. Guttmann has asked that the incumbent "have a pioneering spirit and professional interests similar to those of my husband, Thomas Zimmer."