Dr. James in front of Cancer Hospital, c. 1990
Dr. Arthur G. James believed all cancer would eventually be eradicated. That belief coupled with his dedication to the idea that cancer patients need separate, specialized care, led him to lobby, campaign, and fundraise for thirty-five years to build a cancer hospital in Ohio. The Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Research Institute opened at Ohio State on July 9, 1990 when it admitted its first patient. At the time of its construction, only three hospitals – Roswell Park in Buffalo, New York; M.D. Anderson in Houston, Texas; and Memorial Sloan-Kettering in New York City – had comparable resources. After a gift of $20 million from Richard J. Solove in 1999, the facility was renamed the Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute, but is commonly referred to as the James. The facility remains the only freestanding cancer hospital in Ohio to this day.
Arthur G. James was born in 1912. He received his B.A. in Arts and Sciences from OSU in 1934. He followed that with two more degrees: an M.D. and a M.S. in surgery, also from OSU and both received in 1937. He did his residency at OSU, after internships at the University of Chicago and Duke University, and joined the faculty in 1947 as an assistant professor in the Department of Surgery. He remained at OSU for the rest of his career (41 years), working his way up to full professor and chief of the Division of Surgical Oncology. James was also the first to hold the Lucius A. Wing Chair of Cancer Research and Therapy. For his efforts in establishing OSU’s cancer hospital, James was awarded the American Cancer Society’s Medal of Honor for Clinical Research. He also was a recipient of the 1991 Alumni Medalist Award from the OSU Alumni Association. James died at the age of 89 in 2001, after battling Parkinson’s Disease.
Richard J. Solove was born in 1925 and earned a degree in pharmacy from OSU in 1948. He later owned three Columbus drugstores before devoting himself fully to real-estate development in 1962. It was his relationship with James, who treated Solove’s father for cancer in the 1950s, that drew him to the cancer cause. In 1977, James asked him and other Columbus businessmen for help in pursuing a cancer hospital at Ohio State. Solove worked with then Gov. James Rhodes and the Ohio Legislature to secure funding for the hospital. He was a founding member of The James Foundation Board and served as its president for five years. Solove died in 2011.
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