Seltzer named Waisman Center director

Marsha Mailick Seltzer, a veteran faculty member and administrator, has been named director of the Waisman Center, one of the world’s leading centers of research on developmental disabilities and neurodegenerative diseases.

The appointment was announced today, Sept. 5, by Graduate School Dean Martin Cadwallader.

In appointing Seltzer, Cadwallader says her experience and expertise as a scholar and administrator at UW–Madison will help position the Waisman Center to make new advances in the prevention and, ultimately, the cure of developmental disabilities and neurodegenerative diseases. Seltzer has served as the center’s acting director for a year and a half, following the leave of absence and then retirement of previous director Terrence R. Dolan.

Cadwallader cites Seltzer’s “thoughtful leadership” as acting director, her skill in fostering a difficult administrative transition, and her guidance of the completion of the center’s large expansion project as accomplishments that make her stand out as a leader.

“I have enormous respect for her judgement and leadership abilities,” says Cadwallader. “She is able to foster teamwork and see all sides of an issue. She represents a wonderful combination of scholar and academic leader.”

The Waisman Center is one of nine national centers of its kind. First established in 1963 as the Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. Laboratory with support from the Kennedy Foundation, the Center’s original building was completed and renamed in 1973 after the late Harry A. Waisman, a pediatrician, biochemist, and pioneer in mental retardation research. Its core programs are funded by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. An expansion of Waisman Center facilities in 2001 added substantial new space for state-of-the-art laboratories, service, and training programs.

Today, the center consists of 60 laboratories for basic and clinical biomedical and behavioral research. It includes a brain imaging center, a clinical bio-manufacturing facility, seven specialty clinics for people with developmental disabilities and their families, numerous early intervention and outreach programs, and a school for children from birth through age 6, serving typically developing children and children with disabilities.

Among the biggest challenges of the position, Seltzer says, is to forecast the future and envision where the center and its programs of research and education should be in five or 10 years.

“We are privileged as a center to incorporate programs as diverse as stem cell biology, genetics and gene therapy, neuroimaging, behavioral and social science research, as well as training, clinical, and outreach programs for children and adults with disabilities,” Seltzer says.

She adds that her vision for the future of the Waisman Center “is fueled by a commitment to improving the quality of life of people with disabilities and their families, who are the ultimate beneficiaries of the Waisman Center’s programs.”

The potential of the Waisman Center and its faculty, she continues, is enormous. “These are indeed extraordinary times scientifically, and the Waisman Center is very well poised to advance biobehavioral research. We intend to take full advantage of these opportunities to influence the national debate on issues related to our mission and science,” Seltzer says.

Seltzer joined the UW–Madison faculty in 1988 and served as the coordinator of the Waisman Center’s Applied Research Unit and a professor in the School of Social Work. Before coming to Madison, she was a professor of social work and sociology at Boston University. She holds a doctorate in social welfare from Brandeis University and received her undergraduate training in psychology and sociology at UW–Madison.

A prolific scholar, Seltzer is an authority on families of people with developmental disabilities. She is the author or co-author of five books and more than 100 scholarly papers.

Among her numerous honors and awards, Seltzer has been named a fellow of the American Association on Mental Retardation and the Gerontological Society of America. She has also been the recipient of the Distinguished Research Award from The Arc, the Research Award of the Down Syndrome Congress, and the Distinguished Citizen Award of the Massachusetts Arc.