Professor James Scott
September 26, 2006
Professor James Scott. Check it out:(Yorkshire Post Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) Dean of the School of Medicine, Leeds University Professor James Scott died on September 17 at the age of 82 and the appearance here of his name will trigger memories and gratitude in a wide cross-section of readers.
For example: women who were helped through a mom-entous event in their life by his skill as an obstetrician or had reason to be thankful to him for solving a problem for them as a gynaecologist; doctors, once medical students at Leeds, who will remember his infectious enthusiasm as a teacher and his kindliness as Dean in guiding their careers, and NHS consultants in various disciplines, who will remember him as a colleague who could be counted upon for a well-judged opinion on any problem, whether clinical or non-clinical.
Added to these are former colleagues in the medical school and the wider University of Leeds, who had reason to be grateful to him for his intellect and wisdom as a contributor to academic life in Leeds.
Sadness at the news of the death of this much-loved and respected man will be accompanied by happy memories of a man who was a joy to be with at work and at play.
James Steel Scott was born in Glasgow, where he went to school and university. He made a successful start to his academic career at Liverpool University and had the distinction of being appointed to the chair of obstetrics and gynaecology in Leeds in 1961 at the age of only 37. His research interests were in the field of reproductive immunology and he was internationally recognised as a leader and innovator.
In those days the university's department of obstetrics and gynaecology was in the Leeds Maternity Hospital in Hyde Terrace, for which James had a great affection. He even retained that designation for his department after it had been relocated to the Clarendon Wing, confusing though it was for everyone else until finally dropped at his instigation just before his retirement.
His drive and enterprise took the department from strength to strength, with ground-breaking research in the laboratory being matched always by innovation and constant improvement in patient care on the wards. As well as being a brilliant res-earcher, James was an excellent surgeon, so he was able to lead from in front in everything he asked of his colleagues as their head of dep-artment for almost 30 years.
For the last three years of his career James took on the additional role of Dean of the School of Medicine. That brought him into the mainstream of university life, but he was already versed in its rituals and procedures. Unusually for a clinical professor, he had been a regular attendee at Senate and other university committee meetings.
James carried out his duties as Dean with distinct-ion and he made great efforts to bring together colleagues working at the Infirmary and St James's at a time when relations between those two hospitals were often very strained. One of his most inspired initiatives, which gave a whole new meaning to the term "medical engineering", was the annual Graduation Dinner.
He invited university and NHS colleagues from both sides of the city to a good dinner, but his seating plan was contrived to break down barriers and achieve "cross fertilisation", so important in bringing people together to make common cause.
In this situation, as in private gatherings, James was the perfect host. He was widely read, had many indoor and outdoor interests, a good memory and a lovely sense of humour, so when James got up to speak everyone knew they were in for a treat.
James was blessed with a long and happy marriage to Dr Olive Scott, who was a distinguished paediatric cardiologist at Killingbeck Hospital until she retired in 1986. Their homes in Leeds and later in Knaresborough were places where a wide range of people - friends and professional colleagues - enjoyed wonderful hospitality.
They enjoyed an interesting range of leisure activit-ies before and after retirement. These included regular visits to Scotland to their beloved retreat in Achilitbuie, which overlooks the Summer Isles, and Zermatt, Switzerland, where James was still skiing in his 80s.
James is survived by his wife and their sons, Alistair and Malcolm.
Copyright 2006 Johnston Press Plc. Source: Financial Times Information Limited
Related Tags: james scott, professor james, james, James, university, leeds
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