AUDREY BERNFIELD

BERNFIELD--Audrey, died on her seventy-fifth birthday, November 3, 2012, after a long battle with cancer. Audrey was an innovative force at several universities. At Stanford, she nurtured students in the Program in Human Biology while building an advising system that became a model for the nation. Later, as Director of Undergraduate Advising, she championed the view that college is a place for intellectual exploration where students discover the passions that lead to meaningful lives and careers. As Director of Enrichment Programs at Harvard Medical School, she developed programs that expanded medical students' engagement in the world at large, and was the first non-physician elected president of the International Health Medical Education Consortium, now known as GHEC. She was a lifelong crusader for reproductive rights, starting as a counselor and eventually serving on the boards of several women's health organizations, including Planned Parenthood of Boston. She also served on the boards of the Massachusetts Women's Political Caucus; The Transition Network, an organization for professional women who are transitioning to retirement; New Georges, a New York City theatre company; and as President of the 1661 Foundation, which supports the development of young progressive leaders. Audrey earned a BA in Political Science from the University of Illinois and a Masters in Counseling Psychology from the University of Santa Clara. She is survived by her children, Susan and her husband Claude Millman, Jim and his wife Camilla Enders, Mark and his wife Rachel Saunders, and four grandchildren. Her husband Merton R. Bernfield died in 2002.