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Photo by Rich Schmitt
UCLA Today
Two health-care professionals de-stress at May’s
Landing.
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may's landing
A magical place to meet
BY CYNTHIA LEE
UCLA Today Staff
On a bluff high above the Pacific Ocean, where the shoreline sweeps
inland to form a secluded bay, sits a Cape Cod-style cottage filled
with the treasures and personal mementos of an extraordinary couple,
psychiatrists Philip and Genevieve May.
Crossing the bougainvillea-framed threshold, visitors find a magical
place. Woven baskets hold driftwood and pinecones. Burning logs
in the fireplace ward off a chill. A book-lined study, exotic wall
hangings and art treasures attest to a lifetime of travel and study.
Despite its residents’ absence — Genevieve May followed
her late husband into death on Feb. 28 — May’s Landing,
with its brick-paved veranda, patio and garden walks that open up
the entire back of the home to a breathtaking ocean vista, will
always pay homage to a life well-lived and a home well-loved.
When Philip May, former clinical director of the UCLA Neuropsychiatric
Institute, died in 1986, Genevieve made a stunning announcement
at his memorial service: She wanted to bequeath the home they bought
when they married in 1959 to NPI to be used for study sessions.
Her husband had hosted many meetings of researchers and clinicians
there, and she wanted to continue that. In fact, she did more than
that — she opened her doors wider, to UCLA faculty, staff
and students from across the campus for meetings and retreats. After
Philip died, intending to continue to live there, she deeded over
to UCLA 80% of the property with the remaining 20% to go to the
university upon her death.
“Genevieve and Philip May dedicated their lives to the science
of the mind,” said Peter Whybrow, director of NPI and the
Judson Braun Professor and the executive chair of psychiatry and
biobehavioral sciences. “Their gift to the institute reflects
their belief that the study of human thought makes a difference
in the lives of individuals, communities and society at large. We
are grateful for their generous and enduring gift.”
Over the last 16 years, thousands of staff and faculty have found
their way to the Point Dume home in Malibu for meetings, conferences
and even a few weddings. Many were greeted by the tall, benevolent,
British-educated woman, frequently with her Irish wolfhound by her
side, before she quietly retreated to her study.
The arrangement was a wonderful gift to the campus, said Fawzy
I. Fawzy, executive vice chair of psychiatry and biobehavioral sciences
and a longtime friend of Genevieve May. “Here was this very
intellectual, highly creative and engaged woman who, in later years,
found a cultural and intellectual community that came to her and
that she became part of. When her home was not occupied by UCLA
groups, she filled it with classical music, hosting Sunday musicales.”
Donations, as well as rental fees, went toward the home’s
annual upkeep of more than $100,000.
On a recent day, health-care professionals, unwinding from job
stress at a retreat, relaxed on the sun-warmed patio while surfers
caught waves below. Their discussion was animated, interspersed
with laughter and intimate sharing.
“It’s as though the Mays created this place for healing,”
said Katherine Brown-Saltzman, program director of the Circle of
Caring, which is offered by the Department of Nursing and the UCLA
Healthcare Ethics Center to teach health-care professionals self-care.
“People automatically take a deep breath when they arrive.
They let their guard down and open themselves up to possibilities.
They feel taken care of by these surroundings.”
Since January, more than 600 — including groups from the
UCLA Library, the UCLA Interfraternity Council and Campus Human
Resources — have sampled the hospitality of May’s Landing.
More than 2,000 visited in 2003.
“She loved sharing her home,” said James Putney, a
UCLA oncology chaplain who married Lin Morel there on July 24, 1999,
under Genevieve May’s watchful eyes and maternal concern.
“That was what she lived for. It gave her life.”
The Philip and Genevieve May Psychiatric Endowment Fund has been
established at UCLA for the financial support and maintenance in
perpetuity of May’s Landing as a study center. To find out
more, call Vicky Manfredi at (310) 206-5560.
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