Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior
Date May 31, 2024
All News

Prof. Steven Rasmussen Celebrated for Years of Service to Brown and Butler Hospital

Steven Rasmussen, MD

Professor Steven Rasmussen, M.D., M.M.S, was celebrated by throngs of friends, family, and current and former colleagues at Butler Hospital on May 29 for his decades of service to both Brown University, where he chaired the Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior from 2009 to 2023, and to Butler Hospital, where he variously directed an obsessive disorders clinic, outpatient services, and medical operations. Rasmussen is also a world-renowned researcher in obsessive-compulsive disorder.

In appreciation for his contributions to clinical care and academic advancement, a Mt. Fuji cherry tree will be planted on the Butler campus in his honor. Rasmussen continues to conduct research and clinical work at Butler. 

Despite Rasmussen's many accomplishments, the evening's celebration – a reunion-like atmosphere of well-known faces, hugs, inside jokes and memories – highlighted the personal relationships he has forged over his career. The evening's speakers each provided intimate glimpses into his character. 

Mukesh Jain, M.D., Dean of Medicine and Biological Sciences

Before he even graduated college, Rasmussen was already helping to shape the local medical community. Jain shared that in 1972 Rasmussen was part of a 12-member committee (including four undergraduate students) that in just nine weeks developed the curriculum for Brown's new medical school, now The Warren Alpert Medical School. The committee prioritized a humanistic focus unbound by convention.

“ Steve was absolutely central in those founding principles, those core values, that have become the hallmark of a Brown medical education. We are very much in your debt. ”

Mukesh Jain Dean of Medicine and Biological Sciences, Brown University

Mary Marran, M.S., O.T., M.B.A., President and CEO, Butler Hospital

Rasmussen's imprint on Butler extends beyond the hospital walls to its famously bucolic grounds. According to Marran, Rasmussen was responsible for saving a beech tree, hundreds of years old, from being razed for the construction of a new building. The tree still stands today. 

“ Steve is our one and only steward to what happens on our grounds in terms of trees planted, trees removed, daffodils planted. Some 10,000 daffodils Steve helped lead the charge to plant. ”

Mary Marran President and CEO, Butler Hospital

Lawrence Price, M.D., Professor of Psychiatry and Human Behavior

Price, a former president of Butler Hospital, rattled off lesser-known trivia about Rasmussen, from his love of 1930s neuroanatomy textbooks to his impulse to read the complete works of Shakespeare. The two first met when they were both residents.

“ The word I came up with to summarize Steve’s character is ‘fidelity,’ [which] reflects Steve’s commitment to his patients, many of whom have been under his care for nearly four decades. ”

Lawrence Price Professor of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Brown University

Audrey Tyrka, M.D., Ph.D., Chair, Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior

Tyrka, Rasmussen's successor as DPHB chair, highlighted the ways in which Rasmussen spurred the department's growth, including the development of several research cores and three Centers of Biomedical Research Excellence.

“ He’s always been focused on the good of the department and its people. By people, I mean everyone. Steve values his relationships with people from all sorts of backgrounds, with all sorts of experiences. ”

Audrey Tyrka Chair, Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Brown University

The Man Himself: Steven Rasmussen, M.D., M.M.S, Professor of Psychiatry and Human Behavior 

Rasmussen fondly recalled biking to his first clinical rotation at Butler Hospital in 1976 (on a shoddy Schwinn two-speeder) and marveled at the changes he has seen in the intervening decades. The Butler he first knew included no managed care, no electronic medical records, no computers. The hospital census was only 70. 

He considered the evening a celebration of the legacies of Butler  and Brown – "the struggles, the successes, and most of all, a lifetime of meaningful work helping others in need.”

“ I’ve only wanted old age to come unnoticed, allowing me time to pay attention to the small things that mean the most to each of us. All of you have meant so much to me. ”

Steven Rasmussen Professor of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Brown University