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Reaching for the Stars

By Lynn McCain | March 26 2021

The Department of Pathology is home to a number of strong women who are leaders in clinical care, education and research.  We interviewed several of these women to learn their stories: 

 

  • Carol Farver, MD, Professor, Thoracic Pathology, Godfrey D. Stobbe Professor of Pathology Education and Director, Division of Education Programs.  Read Dr. Farver's her-story below.
  • Laura Lamps, MD Godfrey Dorr Stobbe Professor of Gastrointestinal Pathology, and Director, Gastrointestinal Pathology. Click here for Dr. Lamps' her-story.
  • Lakshmi Priya Kunju, MD, Professor, Genitourinary Pathology, Director, Surgical Pathology; Director, Genitourinary Pathology; and Director, Histology Laboratory. Click here for Dr. Kunju's her-story.
  • Anuska Andjelkovic-Zochowski, MD, PhD, Professor of Pathology. Click here for Dr. Andjelkovic-Zochowski's her-story.
  • Lauren Smith, MD,  Professor, Hematopathology, Director, Hematopathology, Interim Program Director, Hematopathology Fellowship. Click here for Dr. Smith's her-story.
  • Maria Westerhoff, MD, Associate Professor, Gastrointestinal and Hepatobiliary Pathology. Click here for Dr. Westerhoff's her-story.

 

In this series, we will tell the stories of each of these women.  This is Dr. Carol Farver’s story.

“I grew up in a small town, 40-50 miles from Canada, Coeur D’Alene, Idaho. At the time, this was a small, blue-collar town where almost everyone was engaged in the forestry and lumber industries. When my father completed his degree in Forestry, he moved there and worked for the National Forest Service while I was young. Later, as I grew up and the family grew, he decided to start a grocery store,” recalls Farver. It was the 1960’s and 70’s, and most women stayed home. “It was very traditional. Most women worked at home and not outside of the home. Very rarely did one see women in leadership roles in organizations.”

Dr. Farver’s mother was born in North Dakota and spent most of her early life in the Minneapolis-St. Paul region and was one of six children in a family that emphasized education. “Education was a high priority in my home. All of my mom’s siblings went to college. One became a journalist, another an English teacher and one taught nursing at the University of Minnesota. My aunt was a notable Midwest author. My 3 sisters and I went to college. One of my sisters taught English as a 2nd Language at an international school in Seattle, another has a degree in journalism and is working with the Mellon Foundation. My youngest sister is a psychiatric nurse practitioner. “Reading was a big part of our family. I still remember my first trip to the town library and getting my first book.”

Coeur d’Alene is located close to Spokane, Washington, and Farver found her first role model in a music teacher from Spokane. “My music teacher grew up in New York City and was Julliard trained. She taught at one of the colleges in Spokane. My sister and I went to Spokane every week for piano lessons. My piano teacher was very inspirational,” said Farver. “I think of her often. She told me that I could do anything I wanted to do.” When heading to college, Farver thought she would pursue a career in music, although she was good at math and science in high school. “In college, I was thinking I would be a music major,” stated Farver. “I took a bunch of science courses because I liked it and was good at it and I discovered medicine as I went through college. I went to graduate school in physiology and realized that I was more interested in medicine. At the time, I was at UC Berkley working on a PhD and decided to move to medical school.”

Farver went to Yale University School of Medicine. It was there that she discovered her class was very diverse with older students, and students that came from all different fields. One of her good friends had been provost at Strathmore College before medical school. Another had a PhD in math and physics.  One was a dancer for the Joffrey Ballet. After one year as an internal medicine resident, Farver changed to pathology.

“I began my residency in 1985. The Women’s Movement had really come alive in the 60’s and 70’s, so the vocabulary was there for professional women, but we had to be much more deliberate than today. I saw women who were 5-10 years older than me that talked about how you should do things and think. You had to ask to do things. We were on the leading edge.” Farver continued that her Chair, Dr. Ramsi Cotran, was enormously supportive of women and received awards for how he supported and helped women progress in academic careers. Also Farver stated “I received guidance from junior faculty women who were rising in the ranks with very practical advice. My daughter was born during my fellowship and they gave me advice for how to handle that.” Dr. Nina Longtine, who is now at Yale, was not much older than Farver, but Farver found her to be very helpful and practical. “She told me how to handle situations such as if you were on service and your child gets sick and practical issues such as that.” said Farver. Also, Dr. Phyllis Huettner, a long-time friend, trained with Dr. Farver in internal medicine and pathology and was and is a trusted source of good advice.

“Looking around, there was not a woman chair nor a vice chair, but we did see senior women on faculty. We didn’t have mentoring teams like today to reach out to people across the country to ask for mentorship, like the USCAP mentoring program. Those are really helpful.”

One of the biggest changes Farver has noted through the years is the intentionality in including women. “Today, we are very intentional in making sure women candidates are in the mix for positions. We make sure that women are a part of the hiring process and part of the conversation. Women are more vocal about it---the ‘nothing about us without us’ motto is a good one. There is much more intentionality in looking at women for leadership positions.”

Coming to Michigan, Farver’s goal was to expand the educational opportunities throughout pathology, at all levels, although the pandemic has been a challenge. “Everyone should have a career path and educational opportunities,” declared Farver. Michigan still has a lot of white men in leadership, “but the leadership is definitely working hard to get women in the mix.” Her biggest challenge is not opportunity, but energy! There is so much that can be done.

Farver recognizes the importance of mentorship and has been involved in mentoring throughout her career. She is a member of the USCAP mentoring network and while in Cleveland, was part of  High School Science mentoring programs. In this, she mentored high school interns who would join the department as juniors in high school and work with her through their freshman year of college. “My first mentee is now in a pediatric hospitalist fellowship. Another is a 2nd year medical student at Johns Hopkins Medical School. One is a sophomore in Bowling Green, working to get into medical school,” Farver proudly relates. “I stay active with them. It is a very fun relationship because they know each other and that is important. It has been fun.” Farver is now beginning to informally mentor some of the junior faculty in the department who have asked to meet with her. “Grey hair and a lot of years has something to do with that,” teased Farver. “The rewards of mentorship can’t be overstated.”

 
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