Children’s Announces New Endowed Chair

from The Children's Hospital (TCH) News, February 2005

Marianne Wamboldt, MD

Colleagues, friends and family members of Marianne Wamboldt, MD, celebrated her inauguration as the first Children’s Hospital Chair in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry on Jan. 10. The chair, which is the 12th to be publicly announced at Children’s, was established by a $2 million gift from the Cannon Y. and Lyndia K. Harvey Family Foundation.

The endowed chair is one of 10 the hospital aimed to establish during The Imagine the Miracles Campaign for The Children’s Hospital. The Children’s Hospital Chair in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry will support activity in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavorial Sciences under the direction of Dr. Wamboldt, who is the department’s chair.

“I am so grateful to the Harveys for their generosity and what it will make possible for the children we treat here in Colorado, and also for children everywhere who will benefit from the research we will conduct as a result of this perpetual funding,” said Dr. Wamboldt, who is also vice-chair for Child Psychiatry at the University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center. “I believe the establishment of this chair will be the catalyst to building a world-class program at Children’s.”

Dr. Wamboldt came to Children’s in 2002 from National Jewish Medical and Research Center . Her distinguished career includes accomplishments in education, research and clinical care. She is particularly interested in how children and families cope with stress and the development and course of chronic illness. Her work has been published in many peer-reviewed journals, chapters and books. At Children’s, she has negotiated a new pharmaceutical trial for adolescents with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. She also finished a yoga trial for adolescents with health concerns and hired two psychologists to conduct research. She also is analyzing data to establish a more standardized model for the treatment of bipolar disorder in children and adolescents.

Cannon “Cy” and Lyndia Harvey and their family are longtime Children’s supporters who have a personal interest in mental-health issues and bipolar disorder. Cy serves on The Children’s Hospital Research Institute’s board as well as the Foundation’s Board of Trustees. Lyndia is a member of the Mental Health Association of Colorado. The Harveys believe the educational mission of the Mental Health Association is a corollary to the work they hope will come about through the endowed chair.

“We established this chair because we believe in Children’s and in Dr. Wamboldt’s vision,” Cy Harvey said. “Right now, Children’s is known for its world-class cancer and cardiac care. We would hope that someday, Children’s will also be known for its mental-health group and the groundbreaking work that is done here.”