Roy Menninger, MD

Member, Board of Directors of The Menninger Clinic, Houston, Texas; Member, Board of Directors of The Menninger Foundation, Topeka, Kansas; Adjunct Professor, Menninger Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Baylor College of Medicine; Clinical Professor, Department of Psychiatry, University of Kansas-Wichita

Dr. Roy Menninger succeeded his father, William C. Menninger, MD, as President and CEO of The Menninger Foundation in 1967, following Dr. Will’s death in 1966. He continued to lead the national psychiatric hospital until he retired in 1993 when he was named Chairman of Menninger Trustees. Dr. Roy, as his colleagues called him, became the third generation psychiatrist in his family to lead the institution founded by his father, uncle and grandfather, Drs. Will, Karl and C.F. Menninger.

Today, Dr. Roy retains his home in Topeka, Kansas, and continues his involvement with The Menninger Clinic as an active member of the Board of Directors of the Menninger-Baylor College of Medicine-The Methodist Hospital Foundation and as an adjunct professor on Baylor College of Medicine’s faculty for the Menninger School of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences. A national spokesman on mental health, he also lectures before groups such as the Council on Foundations and the Young Presidents’ Organization.

Dr. Roy and his brother, W. Walter Menninger, MD, gave their support to Menninger Trustees to establish an affiliation in the spring of 2003 with Baylor College of Medicine and The Methodist Hospital that would preserve the mission of Menninger. The affiliation culminated in the relocation of the institution to Houston, Texas, in June 2003, ensuring continuation of the institution’s mission to provide quality mental healthcare, education and research.

Under Dr. Roy’s 26 years of leadership, the institution expanded its programs and continued to receive recognition as one of the best psychiatric centers for mental health education, research and treatment of patients with severe mental illness During this period, The Foundation’s net worth grew from $17 million to $122 million. The fund-raising that Dr. Roy directed made it possible for the institution to build numerous facilities for expanded services in 1982, as well as for supporting clinical and behavioral research endeavors and training programs in psychiatry, postdoctoral clinical psychology, post-master’s social work, marriage and family therapy and other disciplines.

His clinical interests in the group dynamics and group processes led to the integration of the group therapy and other dynamic treatment modalities into the hospital, outpatient and community psychiatric services. The Menninger Foundation’s programs also pursued another area of Dr. Roy’s interests—physicians’ mental health—by offering educational and treatment programs for physicians and other business leaders. In 1988, he co-wrote the book, Medical Marriages, which shared insights into the character of physicians and the effect on relationships with the spouse and under stress.

In retirement, Dr. Roy continues to speak publicly about human rights, do clinical work part time and serve as a visiting professor domestically, as well as in Singapore, Thailand and Japan. As a member of one of America’s most recognized families in psychiatry and medicine, Dr. Roy also co-edited the book, American Psychiatry After World War II, which was published by American Psychiatric Press Inc. in 2000.

He was a founding member of the Pacific Rim College of Psychiatry and is a past president and current director on the board. In his work in the 14 Pacific Rim countries, he introduced many concepts of psychodynamic psychiatry and group processes.

Nationally, he served as treasurer on the Board of Directors of the American Psychiatric Press, Inc. and has been a member of the National Board of Advisors of United Behavioral Health since 1990. In 1993, he was awarded Presidential Commendation from the American Psychiatric Association for his years of dedication and service to the mentally ill. He is a Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association, the American College of Psychiatrists and the American College of Physicians.

Through the years, he participated on the national advisory committee for Physicians for Human Rights and the prevention committee for the National Mental Health Association. He chaired the Kansas Governor’s Committee on Public Mental Health Services, was a member of the Governor’s Mental Health Advisory Council and presently chairs the Kansas Mental Health Coalition, a statewide advocacy organization.

The University of Kansas honored Dr. Roy with a Citation of Distinguished Service for his years as a clinical professor of psychiatry. William Jewell College and Ottawa University awarded him honorary degrees.

He is a past member of the Boards of Directors for Midwest Research Institute, Kansas City, Missouri; The New England Mutual Life Insurance Company, Boston; and BankIV, Topeka, Kansas.

Dr. Roy is a 1947 graduate of Swarthmore College in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, and a 1951 graduate from Cornell University Medical College in New York City. He completed an internship at the New York Hospital and residencies at the Boston State and Boston Psychopathic Hospitals, the Institute of Neurology at The National Hospital in London, England, and the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital in Boston. He served as chief of neuropsychiatry at a U.S. Army hospital in Salzburg, Austria, during his military service and was an educator and research fellow at Harvard University before returning to Kansas.

With a long-standing interest in application of psychiatric understanding to business and industry, as well as public education, Dr. Roy served as the director for the Menninger Preventive Psychiatry Department before becoming President and CEO. He lectured nationwide on responsibility to self, stress and psychological aspects of management and leadership, and more recently on the psychology of hate.

His avocational interests include world history, 18th century English literary figures, stamp collecting, computers and music. For a number of years, he played the cello in the Topeka Civic Symphony.