Frederick R. Goodwin

Frederick K. Goodwin was involved in two primary public controversies during his career. In 1992, he was forced to resign as administrator of the Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Mental Health Administration following backlash regarding his "Violence Initiative". During a presentation on inner-city youth, Goodwin compared their behavior to that of aggressive, hypersexual primates, using the word "monkey". In 2008, he faced scrutiny regarding his role as host of the public radio show The Infinite Mind. Reports revealed that Goodwin had received approximately $1.3 million in fees from pharmaceutical companies between 2000 and 2007 for promotional lectures. These financial ties were not disclosed on his radio program, even when episodes discussed the efficacy of drugs manufactured by those companies. Goodwin acknowledged the payments but stated they were not disclosed because he did not believe the consulting work posed a conflict of interest at the time, and he maintained that his broadcast commentary remained independent.