a Legacy of Support for Women and Minorities
Canterbury: ‘A Tireless Advocate’

hen Janet M. Canterbury, Ph.D., was an instructor and researcher at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, students used to line up outside her laboratory waiting to ask her advice. She began to counsel students and faculty on an official level only a few short years after joining the medical school—a role she would continue to play for more than 30 years until her retirement this spring.

Canterbury, professor of medicine, director of the Women and Minority Faculty Development Program, and senior associate dean for special projects, joined UM as an instructor in the Department of Medicine in 1972. Since she began at the University, Canterbury has actively promoted the advancement of women and minority faculty members for “those who had no advocate,” says Dean Emeritus John G. Clarkson, M.D.

“Janet Canterbury served as a tireless advocate for our women and minority faculty members,” Clarkson recalled at an event honoring Canterbury’s retirement. “She helped them with career advice and offered them the wisdom of years of experience in making a difference in the academic world—which isn’t always an easy place for women or minorities.

“Her legacy at the School of Medicine will go on for decades—and even longer than that.”

On his 51st day as dean of the Miller School of Medicine, Pascal J. Goldschmidt, M.D., welcomed faculty, staff, and guests to Canterbury’s retirement event, which featured guest lecturer Gina Barreca, Ph.D., professor of English literature and feminist theory at the University of Connecticut.

“In the academic world, the joy above everything else is to celebrate a member of the team,” Goldschmidt said. “I hope to pursue Janet Canterbury’s dream of building a welcoming institution for all individuals, no matter their race, preference, philosophy, and, most importantly, gender.”

Barreca, an award-winning columnist for the Hartford Courant and Chicago Tribune, has served as an advisor to the Library of Congress for work on humor and the American character, and was deemed a “feminist humor maven” by Ms. magazine.

Her lecture, “10,000 Years of Misunderstanding Between the Sexes Cleared Right Up!” had both sexes doubled over in laughter as Barreca described the differences between men’s and women’s humor. “I’m particularly interested in the differences between men’s and women’s humor because, according to Janet, humor is how you go through life.”

Barreca said she expected everyone in the audience would appreciate feminist humor: “I assume everyone I meet is a feminist because I give everyone the benefit of the doubt. If you use cutlery, you’re a feminist.”

Canterbury plans to learn how to cook and to travel in her newfound retirement. But she will also remain a part of the Miller School. “I have loved working here,” she says.