Situated on a bluff overlooking Santa Monica Bay, Mays' Landing in Malibu is uniquely
suited for contemplation and creative thinking. It was in this small, private, peaceful
setting that Philip R.A. May, M.D., and Genevieve S. May, M.D., thrived, both in their
professional pursuits and in their life together. For more than 25 years, the Mays' friends
and colleagues gathered at Mays' Landing to discuss their work, to review collaborative
efforts, and to renew a sense of inspiration and camaraderie. Today, Mays' Landing upholds
the tradition set by this couple
-- a legacy of teaching and
learning, and of sharing new ideas and knowledge with friends and associates -- a natural
extension, as well, of the spirit of UCLA.
The Legacy
Following Dr. Philip May's death in 1986, Dr. Genevieve S. May announced her intent to bequeath Mays' Landing to UCLA's Neuropsychiatric Institute for use as a study center. In a most generous gesture, she has opened her doors to faculty, staff, students, alumni, and friends of UCLA.
Since 1988, University groups ranging in size from 10 to 100 people have gathered frequently at Mays' Landing for functions such as an afternoon conference or a full day of meetings.
The Mays
Dr. Philip Reginald Aldridge May (1920-1986) received medical degrees from Stanford University in 1944 and Cambridge University in 1946, and was certified in psychiatry in the United States and England, where he was also certified in internal medicine. Dr. May joined the UCLA School of Medicine faculty in 1956, and subsequently served as clinical director of UCLA's Neuropsychiatric Institute from 1962 until 1970, when he became director and then chief of staff of the affiliated Brentwood Veterans Administration hospital.
In 1977, he was selected as the first Della Martin Professor of Psychiatry. A researcher,
clinician, and a teacher of international renown. Dr. May wrote Treatment of Schizophrenia
(1968), a widely acclaimed book that altered the course of therapy for schizophrenia and
has served as the basis for all subsequent treatment and rehabilitation programs.In 1933, Dr. Genevieve Stewart May was graduated from Pennsylvania Medical College in Philadelphia beginning a career as a psychiatrist. She and her husband met in 1956 at a California state conference for the education of staff of state hospitals and were married three years later at which time she had completed four rigorous years of training to become a psychoanalyst. As Dr. Genevieve S. May points out "Our marriage happily brought together studies of both psychotherapeutic drugs and psychoanalytic therapies thus fulfilling Freuds prediction of many years ago that chemical substances would be found to forward therapeutic interventions."
The Philip and Genevieve May Psychiatric Endowment Fund
The Philip and Genevieve May Psychiatric Endowment Fund has been established at UCLA for the financial support and maintenance in perpetuity of Mays' Landing as a study center.
This information is from the following sources:
- Off the Beaten Path at UCLA
- Mays' Landing printed brochure produced and designed by UCLA Print Communications.