Oxford, Ct - Dr. Arthur Hull Hayes, Jr., Former FDA Commissioner, Dies at 76

Dr. Arthur Hull Hayes, Jr. who led the US Food and Drug Administration during the Tylenol crisis of 1982 and was a nationally known professor of clinical pharmacology, died on February 11, 2010 from complications caused by a chronic illness.
In 1981, Dr. Hayes was appointed Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration by President Ronald Reagan. During his years at the agency, he directed the FDA's response to the Tylenol tampering cases, called for a voluntary moratorium on direct-to-consumer advertising of prescription medicines and weathered criticism on the FDA's approval of the sweetener aspartame.
Born in Highland Park, Michigan in 1933 to Arthur Hull Hayes and Florence (Gruber) Hayes, he loved to travel and visited countries on five continents with his wife of 49 years. In 1970, he and his wife co-founded a medical clinic on the Pacific island of Pohnpei, and they worked as a doctor and nurse team on behalf of the Jesuit Missions. Hayes was ordained a permanent deacon in the Roman Catholic Church in 1978 and served in parishes in Pennsylvania, Maryland and New York.
Dr. Hayes received his A.B. in philosophy magna cum laude from Santa Clara University in 1955 and then went to Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar, earning a degree in philosophy, politics and economics in 1957. He returned to the US to study medicine; first at Georgetown University Medical School and graduated from Cornell University Medical School in 1964. Following his graduation, he served in the United States Army Medical Corps from 1965 to 1967-achieving the rank of Captain. Dr. Hayes worked as an Assistant Professor of medicine and pharmacology and Associate Dean for Academic Programs at Cornell before becoming a Professor of Medicine and Pharmacology and Director of Clinical Pharmacology at Pennsylvania State University Medical School in Hershey, Pennsylvania.
After leaving the FDA, Dr. Hayes worked as Provost and Dean at New York Medical College and later, in 1986, was appointed President of E.M. Pharmaceuticals, a division of the German company E. Merck. Five years later, he founded MediScience Associates, a consulting firm, part of Nelson Communications, Inc., and stayed there until 2005, when he retired.
Dr. Hayes served on numerous commercial and pro bono boards, received many honorary degrees and awards and was named a visiting professor at a several academic institutions. He consulted for a dozen foreign governments, authored more than a hundred professional papers, delivered thousands of lectures and trained many clinical pharmacologists working today.
He is survived by his wife, Barbara Anne (Carey) of Oxford, CT ; his three children Arthur of Westport, CT, Lisa of The Netherlands and Kathy of Oxford, CT and their spouses; two sisters, MaryAnn Kelley of Kensington, MD and Florence of Southbury, CT, a brother, Joseph of New York, and eight grandchildren.

Memorials: In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, P.O Box 9026, Pittsfield, MA 01202 and/or Ann's Place Cancer Support Services, 39 Old Ridgebury Rd., Suite 17, Danbury, CT 06810.

Cemetery: Southford Cemetery

Location: Munson-Lovetere Southbury

Funeral: St. Thomas the Apostle

Services: A mass of Christian burial will be held at St. Thomas the Apostle Roman Catholic Church, 733 Oxford Rd. Oxford, CT at 11 AM on Friday, February 19, 2010. Burial will follow in Southford Cemetery, Oxford.

Visitation: Calling hours will be held on Thursday, February 18, 2010 at the Southbury Funeral Home of Munson-Lovetere, 235 Main St. North, from 4 PM to 7 PM.