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Vivian M. Dickerson MD, professor and president of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, says “As a response to the horrible stuff that went on in the Vietnam war, I joined the Peace Corps and was sent to Africa. I started working with women, many of whom were pregnant, and discovered this was what I wanted to do.”



Vivian M. Dickerson MD, professor and president of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, says “As a response to the horrible stuff that went on in the Vietnam war, I joined the Peace Corps and was sent to Africa. I started working with women, many of whom were pregnant, and discovered this was what I wanted to do.”

Vivian M. Dickerson MD.

Residence: Orange
What she does: Medical doctor, professor and president of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
Family: Single; 24-year-old son working on Ph.D. in neuroscience
Hobbies: Hiking, skiing and scuba diving
Favorite Entertainer: Judy Garland

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A long-time champion of women’s health issues, Dr. Vivian Dickerson is in the right place at the right time to impact the state of women’s health in this country. In May of this year she was sworn in, in front of thousands of her peers, as the 55th president of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), based in Washington, D.C.

Dickerson, a resident of Orange, is an associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at UC Irvine and director of the division of general obstetrics and gynecology at the UCI Medical Center. With all her accomplishments, Dickerson still considers herself a late bloomer.

“Most kids in medical school knew they wanted to go into medicine since they were young,” Dickerson says. Not young Vivian. “As a response to the horrible stuff that went on in the Vietnam war, I joined the Peace Corps and was sent to Africa. I started working with women, many of whom were pregnant, and discovered this was what I wanted to do.”

A political science and music major in college, Dickerson returned to school to prepare for the new direction her life had taken. Interestingly, it was a comment during her medical school interview that may have predicted her future. “At age 29,” Dickerson recalls, “I was asked, ‘Why should we accept you over some young buck when you’ll be positively menopausal by the time you graduate?’” Now, a specialist in menopause, she is director of UCI’s Post Reproductive Women’s Integrative Health Center and a nationally known expert on the subject.

In her role as president of ACOG, Dickerson has presented her 10-point Women’s Bill of Rights. Among them: Freedom from discrimination based on gender, age, race, or ethnicity. “I’ve always felt it was important for women to be represented. At that time [during her med school interview], there were almost no women in obstetrics and gynecology.” Now, she says, women are the majority of those in residency, but gender disparity is clear in the top ranks. Dickerson is just the third female president of ACOG and the American Medical Association has had only one female at the helm.

A true torchbearer for women’s health issues, Dickerson says, “I’ve had a lifelong love of advocating for people not adequately represented.” As she leads the charge in her new role, more women surely will benefit.

—By Kimberly Porrazzo

When this story was posted in November 2004, this was on the front page of PCOL:

Your vote makes a difference Make a difference on November 2 - Vote. Then take our RPCV exit poll. See how RPCV's are voting and take a look at the RPCV voter demographic. Finally leave a message on why you voted for John Kerry or for George Bush. Previous poll results here.

Kerry reaches out to Returned Volunteers The Kerry campaign wants the RPCV vote. Read our interview with Dave Magnani, Massachusetts State Senator and Founder of "RPCVs for Kerry," and his answers to our questions about Kerry's plan to triple the size of the Peace Corps, should the next PC Director be an RPCV, and Safety and Security issues. Then read the "RPCVs for Kerry" statement of support and statements by Dr. Robert Pastor, Ambassador Parker Borg, and Paul Oostburg Sanz made at the "RPCVs for Kerry" Press Conference. RPCV Carl Pope says the key to winning this election is not swaying undecided voters, but persuading those already willing to vote for your candidate to actually go to the polls. Take our poll and tell us what you are doing to support your candidate. Finally read our wrap-up of the eight RPCVs in Senate and House races around the country and where the candidates are in their races.

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Director Gaddi Vasquez: The PCOL Interview PCOL sits down for an extended interview with Peace Corps Director Gaddi Vasquez. Read the entire interview from start to finish and we promise you will learn something about the Peace Corps you didn't know before. Plus the debate continues over Safety and Security.

Schwarzenegger praises PC at Convention Governor Schwarzenegger praised the Peace Corps at the Republican National Convention: "We're the America that sends out Peace Corps volunteers to teach village children." Schwarzenegger has previously acknowledged his debt to his father-in-law, Peace Corps Founding Director Sargent Shriver, for teaching him "the joy of public service" and Arnold is encouraging volunteerism by creating California Service Corps and tapping his wife, Maria Shriver, to lead it. Leave your comments and who can come up with the best Current Events Funny?

Peace Corps: One of the Best Faces of America Teresa Heinz Kerry celebrates the Peace Corps Volunteer as one of the best faces America has ever projected in a speech to the Democratic Convention. The National Review disagreed and said that Heinz's celebration of the PCV was "truly offensive." What's your opinion and can you come up with a Political Funny?

Read the stories and leave your comments.