Home » News

Geisel Emeritus Professors Honored for Their Work in Kosovo

Action for Mothers and Children (AMC), a foundation dedicated to saving the lives of mothers and babies in Kosovo, recently presented inaugural Lifetime Contribution Awards to James C. Strickler, MD, and George A. Little, MD, FAAP, during a special ceremony held at the Yale Club of New York City.

Strickler, dean emeritus of Dartmouth’s Geisel School of Medicine and an active emeritus professor of medicine and of community and family medicine, co-founded Action for Mothers and Children. He also established the International Rescue Committee’s first health unit to provide medical care to refugees and conflict-affected peoples, which now serves populations in Africa, Asia, and Europe. And he later led Dartmouth’s Kosovo Project, launched by former Geisel dean John Baldwin, MD, which has aided thousands of refugees after the Balkan war.

“Jim Strickler has devoted his professional career serving others and in the last two decades has focused his efforts in supporting the people—and especially the mothers and children—of Kosovo. I can’t think of a more deserving recipient of this lifetime achievement award,” says Lisa V. Adams, MED ’90, an associate professor of medicine and of community and family medicine.

While accepting his award, Strickler praised Little’s work in both the Republic of Kosovo and AMC: “I invited Dr. Little to become involved in Dartmouth’s health activities in Kosovo soon after the end of the war with Serbia in June 1999, and he remains actively involved. Whereas he is broadly interested in maternal and child health issues as a Board of Trustees member of Action for Mothers and Children, his special interest is in neonatology and his contributions continue to be outstanding.”

Little, an active emeritus professor of pediatrics and of obstetrics and gynecology at Geisel and the Children's Hospital at Dartmouth-Hitchcock (CHaD), is neonatology pioneer. He was New Hampshire’s first neonatologist and established the state’s first neonatal intensive care unit—ChaD’s Intensive Care Nursery. He also founded the Vermont/New Hampshire Regional Perinatal Program. Today, Little is actively involved in developing Kosovo’s first Neonatal Referral System.

“George Little has been on the ground in Kosovo numerous times providing hands-on training to pediatricians and neonatologists. His work there has undoubtedly saved the lives of many infants,” adds Adams, who is also associate dean for global health at Geisel and spent several years working in Kosovo.

“Both George and Jim deserve the highest recognition possible for their contributions to improving health and health care delivery in Kosovo. They always work in close collaboration with our partners there helping to build capacity and to transfer skills—they are exemplary models of global health care practitioners.”

The Lifetime Contribution Award (LCA) recognizes individuals who have made outstanding contributions to Action for Mothers and Children and those who have played a major role in the introduction, growth, and development of revolutionary programs with the organization at a national and international level.