News

by Kristy Demas, Associate Director, Fundraising Communications

In its nearly 100-year history, there are only 82 signatures on the American Geographical Society’s Fliers’ & Explorers’ Globe. Two of them belong to Rachael Mary Upjohn Light Meader who, along with fellow signers Amelia Earhart, Charles Lindbergh, Sir Edmund Hillary, and Richard Byrd, was asked to sign the globe in recognition of her pioneering spirit. Meader is one of only three honorees to sign the globe twice.

Explorer, navigator, aerial photographer — Mary Meader was all of these things and more. Despite the challenges faced by women born in the early 20^th century, she followed her dreams and took chances, leading a life marked by adventure and fulfilled by philanthropy. Born and raised in Kalamazoo, Michigan, Meader attended Smith College in Massachusetts before marrying Richard Upjohn Light, a physician. Both of them subsequently embarked on a remarkable adventure — especially for a young-married couple in 1937. They flew to South America in a small aircraft, took an array of photographs of parts of western South America, then shipped their photographically-equipped plane to South Africa. The two rejoined their plane in South Africa and embarked on a unique excursion of Africa that fueled global interest.

For the next year, the Lights flew some 35,000 miles across the continent with the goal of photographing little-known locales in East Africa. To prepare, Mary studied Morse code. She also learned how to shoot photos with an aerial camera and how to navigate and fly their Bellanca CH-400 Skyrocket monoplane, which was both unheated and unpressurized. Flying several hours each day, the couple had to breathe oxygen through tubes — with diminutive Mary hanging over the side of the plane strapped into a special frame they had installed. This adventurous position enabled her to take inaugural pictures of the land, mountains, and jungles below. Her more than 2,000 photographs captured swaths across all regions, including the Ruwenzori Mountains in Uganda, which had never before been photographed. Their flight was historic in aviation circles as well as among geographic explorers and photographers.

The philanthropic side of Meader, cultivated by family, was equally bold. A grandchild of Dr. W.E. Upjohn, founder of the Upjohn pharmaceutical company, Meader learned firsthand the importance of giving back to one’s community, something she took to heart despite being born to a life of privilege. She was humble throughout her life, downplaying her accomplishments while continuing to contribute to society in many ways, such as teaching local children to read when she was in her 70s.

Having a longstanding interest in improving the diagnosis and treatment of depression and pain, she proposed endowing the Rachel Upjohn Professor of Psychiatry. The professorship was initially awarded to Dr. John F. Greden, then the chair of Psychiatry and still the founder and director of the Michigan Depression Center. Dr. Greden chose to use part of the award to establish the Rachel Upjohn Clinical Scholars Award to support emerging scholars in launching initial research projects. The Rachel Upjohn Scholars Award, as it quickly became known, has supported scores of productive faculty members at Michigan.

And there was more…much more. With her second husband, Edwin Meader, whom she married in 1965, Meader actively encouraged Dr. Greden to pursue his proposal to develop a dedicated facility to support a new Depression Center and Ambulatory Psychiatry. They made a trend-setting $10 million gift to catalyze its construction, encouraging his vision of a distinctive home for the Depression Center. The building’s design, described by Dr. Greden as being the “antithesis of depression,” features skylights, artwork, and windows situated to bring in sunlight. It resonated with Mrs. Meader’s artistic sensibilities and her lifelong commitment to the partnership between academics and community. Characteristically taking the spotlight from herself, Meader chose to name the building after her grandmother — the Rachel Upjohn Building. Another of the Meaders’ footprints at Michigan include their foundational gift to the Kelsey Museum of Archaeology in 2004, a reflection of Ed’s background interests in geography and archeology.

Given Mary Meader’s spirit of innovation, discovery, and forward-thinking desire to better society, the Depression Center and the Rachel Upjohn Building at U-M fittingly became the launching site for the National Network of Depression Centers (NNDC). It was designed to recruit and integrate efforts from other esteemed universities to conduct large-scale, longitudinal advances to aid the diagnosis and treatment of mood disorders, not unlike centers for the treatment of cancer. Today, the NNDC has expanded to 26 universities which work together in developing partnerships with other global universities to lessen suicide tragedies and help eradicate the stigma of these illnesses.

The University of Michigan is proud to claim the Rachel Upjohn Building as a meaningful legacy for this remarkable woman and her family. 

Ed and Mary on their wedding day. [Photo: Floyd Parks and the Light and Meader families.]

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The University of Michigan Depression Center is currently requesting proposals for these two awards:

Rachel Upjohn Clinical Scholars Award

Rachel Upjohn Strategic Translational Research Awards (STAR Awards)