Marcelle W. Willock, MD

MARCELLE W. WILLOCK, MD , professor emerita of anesthesiology and from 1982 to 1998 chair of the department, passed away October 12, 2022, from complications after emergency surgery while visiting relatives in Toronto, Canada. She was 84.

Willock remained vibrant and engaged within the department after retirement, attending lectures and interacting with residents and faculty. She was among the first women of color to lead an academic and clinical department in the United States and the first Black woman to achieve emerita status at the school.

Her many noteworthy accomplishments while serving in the former Boston University Medical Center Hospital and Boston City Hospital (now Boston Medical Center) included accrediting the anesthesia residency program and modernizing the administration of anesthetics from both professional and technological standpoints. She was responsible for standardizing guidelines related to patient safety and for the introduction of pulse oximetry, capnography and transesophageal echocardiography, among other innovations, into operating rooms. In the early 1980s, there still were dentists providing anesthesia care at Boston City Hospital. One of her most remarkable actions was to end this practice and assure that only qualified physician anesthesiologists could provide anesthesia care following the care team model promulgated by the American Society of Anesthesiologists.

She was on multiple Medical Campus committees, served as president of the Massachusetts Society of Anesthesiologists and the Society of Academic Chairs, and held a variety of leadership positions with the American Society of Anesthesiologists. She also served as president of the Louis and Martha Deveaux Foundation, a charitable organization in the Republic of Panama.

Willock was a consultant for the Federal Bureau of Investigation, a member of the board of directors for the Boston Police Athletic League, worked in the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in New York City, and served as a trustee for the College of New Rochelle. After leaving BU, Willock became the first female dean of Charles Drew University College of Medicine and Science in Los Angeles, where she retired in 2005. An advocate for civil rights and diversity, she collaborated with many programs addressing healthcare disparities and the fair treatment of minorities.

She generously supported two important funds at BUMC, the Violeta Martinez and Rafael Ortega Anesthesiology Research Fund, and the Marcelle W. Willock, MD, Faculty Development & Diversity Program, a longitudinal leadership and career development program for BUMC faculty from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups.

Willock is survived by her niece and nephews Jason, Yvette, Dominic, and George. ● behind astonishing $100 million gift to BU’s School of Medicine