James A. Knight

James A. Knight, MD

James A. Knight, MD (October 20, 1918 – July 17, 1998) was a psychiatrist, theologian, and medical ethicist. He was an ordained Methodist minister.[1] His principle contributions were in medical student development, the intersection of psychiatry and religion, ethical issues in medicine, and the understanding of conscience.[1]

Knight held the Harkness Chair in Psychiatry and Religion at Union Theological Seminary in New York.[2] Subsequently, Knight served in a variety of administrative posts, including Dean of Admissions at Tulane University School of Medicine, where he promoted admission of people of diverse ethnic and educational backgrounds into medical school. Knight was the first Dean of the newly formed Texas A&M University College of Medicine, a post he served for five years (1973 - 1978).[3] He subsequently left university administrative posts to finish his career as a professor at Louisiana State University School of Medicine in New Orleans and returning to the Texas A&M College of Medicine as professor from 1992 - 1997.[4]

Knight was born in St. George, South Carolina, on October 20, 1918. He graduated from Wofford College and earned his MD at Vanderbilt University. He completed his post-graduate medical training at Grady Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia, and at Duke University Hospital in Durham, North Carolina. Additionally, Knight completed a Master of Divinity Degree at Duke University and a Masters of Public Health Degree from Tulane University. During World War II, he served as a Navy Chaplain on the USS Sanctuary hospital ship. He died on July 17, 1998, at age 79.[1]

Knight's many awards included the Distinguished Alumni Award from Wofford College in 1971.[5] Another award was for his leadership of the Society for Health and Human Values.[6] He was a member of the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion.[1] Knight earned a fellowship from the World Health Organization for study at the C.G. Jung Institute in Zürich, Switzerland, in 1961.[1]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 New Orleans Times Picayune obituary, July 18, 1998.
  2. ↑ Albert C. Outler, Pastoral Psychology, vol. 14, no. 9, p. 4 (1963).
  3. ↑ Texas State Historical Society, accessed April 6, 2012.
  4. ↑ Charles C. Sprague, foreword in "Doctor-To-Be: Coping with the Trials and Triumphs of Medical School", James A. Knight, Appleton-Century-Crofts, publishers, 1981, ISBN 0-8385-1722-6.
  5. ↑ The National Alumni Association Distinguished Service Award of Wofford College, accessed March 20, 2012.
  6. ↑ The Society for Health and Human Values became part of the American Society for Bioethics and Humanities as of 1998.

External links

Selected books