Healy, Former NIH Chief, Named President of American Red Cross

Bernadine P. Healy, a cardiologist and director of the National Institutes of Health during the Bush Administration, takes the helm of the American Red Cross on September 1.

Dr. Healy, currently dean of Ohio State University College of Medicine and Public Health, succeeds Elizabeth Hanford Dole, who stepped down as president of the charity in January to organize a bid for the U.S. Presidency.

The Red Cross is one of the nation’s largest humanitarian organizations, with a $2.3-billion budget. Last year, the group raised $567-million in private support. It ranked No. 3 on The Chronicle’s Philanthropy 400 list of charities that attracted the most in contributions in 1997.

Like Mrs. Dole, Dr. Healy, a Republican, has made forays into politics. In 1994, she ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate from Ohio.

She was the first woman to head the N.I.H., and has been credited with starting a $625-million effort at the agency focusing on women’s health.

At Ohio State, colleagues said she has also worked hard to advance the medical college’s research into diseases that affect women, including cancer and cardiovascular disease. She was described as an accomplished fund raiser who has attracted several endowed professorships to the university.

She also has her share of critics. She clashed with some scientists at the N.I.H., who disagreed with her public support of President Bush’s ban on fetal-tissue research and who were put off by what they viewed as a top-down management style.