Ethel F. and James A. Valone, MD
Ethel F. and James A. Valone Visiting Lecturer
Dr. James A. Valone is a New York state native who trained at the University of Buffalo and the University of Michigan. In 1951, he had a general surgery practice in Lexington, N.C., when he decided to do a residency in plastic surgery. There were almost no places in the South then to train as a plastic surgeon, so he went to Washington University in St. Louis.
In the late 1970s, the Valone Visiting Professorships were established by the bequest of Dr. James A. Valone. These substantial funds were given by Dr. Valone to the division to provide the opportunity for selected educators to visit the University, and to provide support to fellows and educational materials within the division.
An endowment from Dr. James A. and Ethel F. Valone, established the Ethel F. and James A. Valone, MD, Distinguished Professorship in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, effective July 1, 1994. Valone was Raleigh’s first plastic surgeon when he opened his practice in 1953. He retired in 1996. The Valones put down roots in Raleigh and maintained friendships in the School of Medicine over the years.
The Valone distinguished professor and division chief for plastic surgery, Gerald Sloan, said in 1995 after the endowment was established, that, “Carolina has made rapid strides in its clinical and teaching mission in plastic and reconstructive surgery. Now,” he said, “the Valones’ research support will help the faculty advance the frontiers of knowledge in areas such as wound healing, burns and cleft lip and cleft palate/craniofacial surgery.”
“The new Valone research endowment will allow us to attract some of the best plastic surgery research talent in the world to UNC,” Sloan said. “The expansion of our research program will tremendously benefit the care of our patients, the education of our residents, and the national stature of the UNC Division of Plastic Surgery.”
The endowment has made it possible that surgeons in training no longer have to leave the region to find a comprehensive plastic and reconstructive surgery program.
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