Press Release: Frances Humphrey Howard Retires

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Frances Humphrey Howard Retires After 41 Years of Distinguished Federal Service

Career Has Included Work in Biomedicine, World Hunger, Human Rights, Cultural Affairs and Promoting International Understanding

(BETHESDA, MD) ---One of America's premier public servants, Frances Humphrey Howard, has announced her retirement from the National Library of Medicine, an arm of the National Institutes of Health.

The indefatigable Howard, whom many would describe as 85 years young, has had a long and distinguished federal career. Since 1970 she has served at the NLM as Special Assistant to the Associate Director for Extramural Programs. In that capacity, she has helped draw attention to medical libraries, and served as a liaison between NLM and other federal agencies, the biomedical community, nonprofit private organizations, and universities. Mrs. Howard was also a driving force behind the creation of NLM's National Center for Biotechnology Information, which creates automated systems for storing and analyzing knowledge about molecular biology and genetics. She was also instrumental in the founding of a private organization, the Friends of the NLM, which supports Library projects.

"Fran Howard has been a dynamo," remarked National Library of Medicine Director Dr. Donald A.B. Lindberg. "The nation-- including the NLM--is much indebted to her for her tireless support of scientific hope for all who need it."

Actually, NLM, the nation and the world have benefited from Mrs. Howard's advocacy. For a time, she was a Foreign Service Officer at the Department of State and the U.S. Agency for International Development. During her time with AID and the Office of the War on Hunger, she made over 75 addresses during a 30-country tour on foreign aid.

Culturally, too, Mrs. Howard, has made a major impact. She's credited by the founder of the Museum of African Art in Washington as a key supporter, instrumental in its becoming a Smithsonian museum. She serves on the boards of directors for 15 Washington organizations, including the National Theater, and is a trustee of the Washington Opera.

Frances Humphrey graduated from George Washington University in 1937 with a bachelor of arts degree in sociology. Five years later, in December 1942, she married a classmate, Ray Howard. Both were intensely interested in health and social welfare issues, and she earned her master's in sociology while he went through medical school.

In one of the most interesting chapters in a fascinating life, in 1941 Frances Humphrey became First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt's assistant for employee activities in the National Civil Defense Office. Mrs. Roosevelt was one of the most influential figures in Frances Humphrey Howard's life. Another with whom she had a special bond was Mrs. Howard's brother, the late Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey, Jr. She assisted in his political campaigns and, among other collaborations, joined with him to develop the Peace Corps program while she was an assistant at the International Cooperation Agency (later the Agency for International Development).

After she was widowed in 1967, Howard continued in her civil service and international efforts, receiving numerous citations, awards and honorary degrees. She worked for the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (now HHS) during the Nixon Administration and finally ended up at NLM. She was a trendsetter in her time, pursuing a career and having a family. Her daughter Anne Howard Tristani, is assistant to the president of the University of Puerto Rico, and her son, William Howard, is a judge in Minneapolis.

Frances Howard has continued to break the mold in later life, working long past retirement age as the epitome of a public servant. As First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton remarked in a letter of congratulations on Mrs. Howard's 85th birthday, "Young and old, rich and poor, healthy and infirm have benefited from Frances' strength, wisdom and resolve. She gives new meaning to the term 'the good citizen.'"

Note to editors: A photograph of Frances Humphrey Howard is available.

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Last updated: 27 September 1999
First published: 24 September 1999
Permanence level: Permanent: Stable Content