COSTA MESA : OCC Grad Wins Alumni Honor
Orange Coast College graduate Dr. James Tait Goodrich was recently honored by the Community College League of California as a distinguished alumni.
The internationally known New York neurosurgeon received the Distinguished Community College Alumni Award at the league’s 63rd annual convention last month.
Other honorees included actors Tom Hanks and Edward James Olmos; U.S. Attorney Lourdes G. Baird; Rep. Gary A. Condit (D-Ceres), and Melvin Salveson, president of One-Card International Inc.
Goodrich, a 1972 graduate of Orange Coast, is an associate professor of neurological surgery, pediatrics, plastics and reconstructive surgery at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx.
He is also director of pediatric neurosurgery at the Montefiore Medical Center and at the Bronx Municipal Hospital Center.
His specialty is dealing with children and newborn infants who have severe facial deformities.
He is also a specialist in pediatric brain tumors.
Now a resident of Englewood, N.J., Goodrich enrolled at Orange Coast in 1968 after serving a tour of duty with the Marines in Vietnam.
He was named the college’s valedictorian and “outstanding student” for his perfect 4.0 grade point average.
He went on to receive a bachelor of science degree from UC Irvine and master’s and Ph.D. degrees from Columbia University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.
He received his medical degree from Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons.
Goodrich is a Clinical Fellow with the Neurological Institute of New York and is the author of numerous books and articles.
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