YSUnity and Melnick Medical Museum host local researcher

YSUnity and the Melnick Medical Museum will host a presentation on the pathbreaking Youngstown surgeon Dr. Richard Murray (1921-2002) 5:30 p.m., Tuesday, March 21 in the President’s suite of Kilcawley Center.

This presentation is free and open to the public and light refreshments will be provided.

A pivotal yet under-examined figure in medical and transgender history, Murray was a force in Youngstown during the latter half of the 20th century. He was a patron of the arts, artist, author, prognosticator, and highly accomplished physician. Murray’s Medart building on Glenwood Avenue was his palace; for many, it was a gender crossroads.

This presentation synthesizes original research from multiple archives undertaken by Ginger Williams who is a recently retired engineer from Cleveland. She grew up in Boardman and holds degrees from Youngstown State and Case Western Reserve Universities. She is a Board Member with TransOhio, Ohio’s first statewide transgender equality group. Her presentation on Murray offers a look at the career of a pathbreaking plastic surgeon who saw their life’s work as helping people be the best version of themselves.

YSUnity is YSU’s LGBT+ student organization whose mission is to promote awareness of issues relating to LGBTQIA students; provide a supportive and welcoming common place for all LGBTQIA students & faculty; create a more welcoming campus for the LGBTQIA community through campus activism, education and events; and network with other organizations and businesses on and off campus to create a diverse network of support for the benefit of all members of YSUnity.

The Melnick Medical Museum, under the operations of the YSU Maag Library, first opened in October 2001. The founder, Dr. John C. Melnick, was a radiologist at Youngstown Hospital Association and named the museum in honor of his mother, Rose Melnick.