Elders, Joycelyn

Joycelyn Elders is a physician and health administrator who serving in the Clinton administration as the first African American and second woman Surgeon General of the United States. She was trained as a pediatrician, and became a faculty member at the University of Arkansas Medical Center (UAMC) in 1967. As Surgeon General, she was best known for her discussions of sensitive issues like drug legalization, teenage sexuality, and distribution of contraception in schools.

Elders was born Minnie Lee Jones in Schaal, Arkansas, and later changed her name to Minnie Joycelyn Lee. She grew up in a poor family; her father worked as a sharecropper. Elders received her B.S. degree in Biology from Philander Smith College in Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1952. She then worked as a nurse's aide in a Veteran's Administration hospital in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, before joining the U.S. Army in May 1953. In the Army, Elders trained as a physical therapist. After her tour of duty, she attended the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS), and in 1960 earned her medical degree. She completed an internship at the University of Minnesota Hospital, followed by a residency in pediatrics at the UAMS. She also earned an M.S. degree in Biochemistry. As a UAMC faculty member, Elders advanced from assistant professor to professor by 1976. She received a National Institutes of [Page 471]Health career development award, and in 1978 gained certification as a pediatric endocrinologist.

Elders's political and administrative career began in 1987 when then Arkansas governor Bill Clinton appointed her Director of the Arkansas Department of Health. Among her proudest achievements during that time included a tenfold increase in the number of annual early childhood screenings, and the near doubling of the immunization rates of 2-year-old children. Elders pushed aggressively to reduce teen pregnancy in Arkansas by making birth control and sex education more readily available. She also endorsed human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) testing and counseling. Elders was elected president of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officers in 1992.

In January 1993, President Clinton tapped Elders to become the U.S. Surgeon General. She was a strong supporter of his health plan, and became a controversial nominee whose appointment was not confirmed until September of that year. She was a strong, outspoken advocate for many health-related causes, including the distribution of contraceptives in school, the exploration of drug legalization, and abortion rights. In 1994, at a speech at the United Nations, Elders said schools should consider teaching masturbation to students as a means to prevent sexually transmitted diseases. This statement was attacked by right-wing activists, and the ensuing controversy led President Bill Clinton to remove her from office in December 1994. Elders returned to the UAMC and became a regular on the lecture circuit, speaking on issues related to acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) and teen pregnancy. Semi-retired, Elders lives in Little Rock, and is a professor emeritus at UAMC.

Elders's political career began when President Bill Clinton appointed her Director of the Arkansas Department of Health.