Environmental Health Sciences 
History of the Department of Environmental Health Sciences
(Jerome O. Nriagu, Stuart A. Batterman, John
Gannon)
The University of Michigan has been instrumental in shaping the
direction of environmental health teaching and research in the United
States with a history that can be traced back to 1873. Since this time,
the Environmental Health Program has provided a common thread and a critical
component of public health activities in the University, nation and world,
and had many "firsts" in environmental and public health including
that reach back well over a hundred years, for example,
- 1887: First Professorship of Hygiene established in the University
- 1889: First Hygiene Laboratory in the US opened with Clarence
Vaughn as Director
- 1897: First MS degree in Hygiene and Public Health awarded
to Dr. Edna Day
- 1911: DrPH Degree established by the Board of Regents of
the State of Michigan.
The following describes key highlights and at least some of the many
nationally and internationally significant innovations and accomplishments
achieved in the Department and its predecessors. However, this history
undoubtedly fails to capture many important aspects. Thus, we apologize
for any omissions, and of course welcome any additions to this history.
The development of EHS at the University of Michigan falls into three
organizational periods:
- 1887-1921 with the Department of Hygiene, or the "Victor Clarence
Vaughan" era;
- 1921-1941 with the Division of Hygiene, the "Sundwall" era;
and
- 1941-to the present, with the School of Public Health, the "modern"
era
The early years (1873-1921)
The University of Michigan was one of the first universities to recognize
its public health obligations. The root of organized instruction in Environmental
(public) Health at the University of Michigan can be traced to the establishment
of the Michigan State Board of Health (MSBH) in 1873. In recognition of
the importance of education and research in controlling diseases, the
MSBH made a request to the Board of Regents that resulted in the establishment
of the first full-time professorship of hygiene in 1887. Appropriation
for the Hygienic Laboratory, the first of its kind in the nation, was
made by the state legislature in 1887 and the facility was opened in January
1889 with Victor Clarence Vaughan (Ph.D., 1876; M.D., 1878; University
of Michigan) as the first director. The objectives of the new laboratory
were three-fold: (1) original investigation into the causation of disease,
(2) sanitary examination of samples of food, drink and water at a nominal
cost to the consumer, and (3) the education center for students interested
in hygienic investigations.
Much of the early research dealt with mineral, vegetable, bacterial and
animal poisons and their effects on living things. When the hygienic laboratory
was being built in 1887, bacteriology was but five years old and there
were no trained bacteriologists in the country. In 1888, Dr. Vaughan spent
some time in the laboratory of Dr. Robert Koch in Berlin and visited with
Pasteur and Roux to learn the new science. The techniques he learned were
immediately set up and the hygienic laboratory became the first in the
United States to offer systematic teaching in bacteriology to students
and physicians. Courses in sanitation (established in 1885) and hygiene/bacteriology
(established in 1890) formed the seed from which all later development
of courses in public health in the university grew.
Waste problems and the protection of food and water supply were the focus
of public health efforts in these early years. Later developments in preventive
procedures, vaccines, and antibiotics greatly reduced the poisoning epidemics
and risks of endemic diseases and brought attention to bear on other important
environmental factors in chronic diseases. The increase in life expectancy
from about 47 to over 70 years shifted environmental health concerns to
quality of life issues, the effect of pollutants on the increasing prevalence
of heart disease, cancer, mental disorders, violence, infertility, and
chronic diseases of the aged.
Course offerings at the turn of the previous century reflected the public
health interests of the time, with the primary focus being on environmentally
related problems. Students were trained in bacteriological methods and
acquired an understanding of the nature, sources, identification, and
distribution of bacteria and other pathogens while the sanitary engineers
were imbibed with knowledge on environmental conditions, routes of disease
transmission, and procedures for blocking or controlling these routes.
The first Master of Science in Hygiene and Public Health was awarded
in 1897 to Dr. Edna D. Day. In 1911, the Board of Regents (a) authorized
a two-year course beyond the M.D. leading to the degree of Doctor of Public
Health; no such degree was granted until 1916, and (b) approved the program
for the degree of Master of Science in Public Health. During the 17 years
of (1897 to 1914) when the department was administered by the medical
school (as antecedent to preventive medicine), nine master's degrees were
conferred in the field of public health. From 1914 to 1941, all degrees
in hygiene and public health were offered through the Graduate School
which was established in 1912. One of the first two doctorates ever granted
went to Vaughan's fourth son, Henry Frieze, following in his father's
footsteps.
In some respects, the 1897-1921 period was a golden era for environmental
health development in the University of Michigan. Henry Sewall, a former
professor of physiology in the medical school recalled the course in sanitary
science:
"[Dr. Vaughan] invented a course in hygiene which was a forerunner
of the institution of preventive medicine. The largest lecture room
became crowded with students who relished with zest a culture which
included the motivation of their own bodies in health and disease, but
stressed above all the importance of [the environment on human health]."
Those indeed were the days of fast-paced advancements in the understanding
of environmental agents and their acute health effects. The Hygienic Laboratory
became a focal point for research in the state dealing with exposure and
toxicity of chemical and biological contaminants in food, water and wastes.
Major contributions were made in development of analytical methods for
contaminants (Michigan Method of Water Analysis became the standard
protocol in many laboratories), and in studies of cellular toxicology
and effects of contaminants on the immune system. There were studies on
poisoning by arsenic in green wallpaper (by Dr. Luther Warren) and the
blastophthoric and other systemic effects of lead (initiated by Alred
Scott Wartin) which later led to the basophilic tests (by Carey McCord
of the School of Public Health) used throughout the world in screening
for lead poisoning. An outcome of the long continued research on lead
poisoning was the historic Carl Weller collection of early lead publications
which was bequeathed to the medical library when he died in 1956.
Research and training during the period were dominated by the indefatigable
Victor Clarence Vaughan (1851-1926) whose MS thesis (1875) on the separation
of arsenic from other metals is still of interest and concern for environmental
chemists. He later became chairman of the MSBH, first professor of hygiene
and physiological chemistry at the University of Michigan, first director
of the Hygienic Laboratory and dean of medical school for thirty years
(1891 to 1921). The long list of the professor's publications (17 books
and over 300 papers and reports) covered many environmental health problems
but his forte was the chemical poisons, both exogenous and endogenous,
that "might bring disease to the human body". Coca Cola, the
icon of American culture owes its survival to Dr. Vaughan's testimony
that convinced the court that the coke formula contained no chemicals
inimical to health. Dr. Vaughan was a toxicologist par excellence and
as such was in much demand throughout the land as an expert witness in
courtrooms, legislative halls and government hearing. He became an important
member of the American Public Health Association and an ardent spokesman
for research by the Michigan group. Dr. McCord, who was a noted figure
in EIH department, provided the following observation on the impact of
Dr. Vaughan' lectures:
"Scorning long advanced schedules of instruction, Dr. Vaughan
brought his latest toxicological exploit as the subject of the day whether
in hygiene or in physiological chemistry. So dramatic were these presentations
and so great the impact on students that the wonder is that for the
period, medical Michigan did not turn out a race of toxicologists".
In truth, many of his students did become key players in the field of
toxicology. The retirement of Victor Vaughan as the dean of medical school
and director of the hygienic laboratory in 1921 brought the first stage
in the development of environmental health program at the University of
Michigan to a fitting close.
The Sundwall era (1921-1941)
Dr. John Sundwall (Ph.D., Chicago 1906; M.D., Johns Hopkins, 1912) was
appointed director of a newly organized and independent Division of Hygiene
and Public Health in 1921. He was primarily a builder and the 1921-1941
period was marked by rapid growth in training and research in environmental
health in the university. The following excerpt from Dr. Sundwall's review
of his own accomplishments bears this out:
"In 1920-21, only five courses in public health were offered
in the regular academic session, and there were but fifteen professional
students. By 1938-39 the number of courses was 76 and the enrollment
of professional students, 377. Similarly with the faculty: at the beginning,
the only full-time staff members were Dr. Sundwall himself and the professor
of public health nursing; part-time services as lecturers were given
by four members of other university faculties. In 1938-39 the roster
included 20 members of the Hygiene and Public Health faculty, 11 nonresident
lecturers, and 6 other lecturers drawn from faculties on campus".
Notable developments pertaining to environmental and industrial health
included the organization of formal instructions in occupational health
that was initiated by Dr. Emory Sink in 1927.
The modern era (1941 - present)
The School of Public Health was created in 1941 using grants
provided by the Kellogg and Rockefeller Foundations for a new building,
equipment and operating expenses. The new building (now SPH I, entrance
shown at right) was dedicated in the fall of 1942 and Professor Henry
Frieze Vaughan (Dr.P.H., Michigan 1916) was appointed the first Dean
of the School. The school assumed all the faculty and responsibilities
of its antecedent, the Division of Hygiene and Public Health. At its inception,
the school was divided into three major departments: Environmental
Health (including public health engineering and industrial health), Public Health Practice and Epidemiology. Strong science
background was generally required for admission, and most of the students
were recruited from medical, nursing, and engineering schools and science
departments. Programs on social and behavioral risk factors on community
health came later.
In the first bulletin of the School of Public health (preliminary announcement)
1941-42, the list of faculty members involved in environmental health
teaching and research included Harry E. Miller, Gerald M. Ridenour, Lloyd
R. Gates and John Sundwall. The curriculum in the department at that time
was designed to meet the needs of those specializing in the field of environmental
or industrial health who had the basic training in medicine, engineering
or public health nursing. The courses were organized into three tracts
aimed at the environmental health administrator, health engineer and public
health nurse. Core courses included the following:
Environmental Health 200 (Introduction to environmental health)
Environmental Health 202 (administrative methods in environmental health)
Environmental Health 201 (for public health nurses)
Environmental Health 203 (for engineers)
Environmental Health 220 (sanitary practice laboratory; not required for
public health nurses)
Environmental Health 241 (principles and methods of industrial health)
Environmental Health 242 (occupational diseases and industrial toxicology)
Environmental Health 2243 (industrial health practice)
Public Health Practice 200 (introduction to physiological hygiene)
Public Health Practice 201 (introduction to public health)
Public Health Practice 202 (public health administrative problems)
The range and richness of courses offered clearly suggests that environmental
health was a mature discipline in the university by the time the School
of Public Health was created. It is equally remarkable that the comprehensive
package of environmental health education was being offered about two
decades before Rachel Carson's Silent Spring and the dawn of environmental
awareness among the American public.
A number of important milestones were achieved in the department during
the 1940's. From the early days of the hygienic laboratory, research and
training on sanitary controls and the environment had been given top billing.
Much of the sanitary science was undertaken as a joint effort between
the School and National Sanitation Foundation (NSF, now NSF
International), a non-profit organization incorporated in Michigan
in 1944 with its headquarters in the School of Public Health. This foundation
was begun through mutual understanding between national leaders of industry
and business leaders and leaders in public health. It served to keep industries
informed of sanitation programs in novel production techniques, helped
to promote uniform sanitation standards available to manufacturers and
health authorities and was used as an organ for promoting education in
sanitary science. The NSF has since severed its connection with the School,
become one of the largest organizations of its kind in the world, and
"certified by NSF" on a product has become an important mark
of consumer acceptability.
In 1949, the program on fundamental research in stream analysis, sponsored
by the National Council for Stream Improvement of the Pulp, Paper,
and Paperboard Industries, Inc. was transferred to the School. The study
was developed as a cooperative effort of industry and regulatory agencies
and was aimed at defining the natural purification characteristics of
streams and could serve as a basis for pollution abatement. Research done
under this project led to new techniques for evaluating the hydrological
and biological properties and resulted in fuller utilization of the survey
water resources located in widely spread areas of the country. Although
the project was directed by Joseph Velz in the Department of Public Health
Statistics, it nevertheless served as an important training tool for students
in Environmental Health Department.
The year 1949 also marked the beginning of substantive commitment in
occupational health with the appointment of Dr. Clarence D. Selby,
a former Medical Director for General Motors Corporation as a resident
lecturer in the School. Related to Dr. Selby's appointment was provision
of fellowships by General Motors to be administered according to the "Saginaw
Plan". The two-year fellowships in industrial medicine were to
be devoted to academic pursuits at the School during the first year and
to field activities in industry and at the Saginaw General Hospital during
the second year. For a period of years, this "Saginaw Plan"
was hailed by the American Medical Association and recognized as an accredited
industrial medical internship.
In 1950, General Motors Corporation gave the Department $10 million to
establish a teaching program in Industrial Health, responding to
the need for trained health and safety professionals in the heavily industrialized
Midwest. With over 50 years experience and over 700 alumni, the UM IH
Program ranks as the leading institution in the U.S. for graduates with
advanced degrees in this field. Alumni span the world and facilitate internships
and employment for students and recent graduates.
The current EHS Department
The Department of Environmental and Industrial Health was formed
in 1970 by the amalgamation of the Departments of Environmental Health
and Industrial Health. In 1979, it incorporated the Program in Toxicology.
Other consolidations at the School of Public Health reduced the number
of departments from nine to five, and in 1995 the present Environmental
Health Sciences Department was formed by the incorporation of Human
Nutrition.
Important Dates in EHS
 |
| 1897 |
First degree (MS in Hygiene
and Public Health) awarded to Dr. Edna Day |
| 1881 |
Teaching of sanitary science begins at the University of Michigan. |
| 1887 |
Chair of hygiene and physiologic
chemistry is established. |
| 1889 |
Hygiene Lab opened with Clarence
Vaughn as Director |
| 1897 |
University awards its first Master
of Science in Hygiene to Edna Day. |
| 1911 |
Curricula for master's and doctoral
degrees in public health (Dr.P.H.) approved by the Board of
Regents. |
| 1912 |
Graduate School established at the
University of Michigan. |
| 1914 |
All degrees in hygiene and public health
transferred to the Graduate School |
| 1915 |
First Master of Science in Public
Health degrees granted |
| 1916 |
First Doctor of Public Health degrees conferred to Henry Vaughn |
| 1921-41 |
Independent Division of Hygiene established with John Sundwall as first and only director |
| 1942 |
School of Public Health established
with 3 departments: Environmental Health, Epidemiology, and
Public Health Practice |
| 1943 |
School of Public Health building is
completed; building contains 63,000 sq ft of laboratory, classroom,
and administrative space. |
| 1945 |
SPH researchers participate
in groundbreaking water fluoridation studies in Grand Rapids. |
| 1950 |
GM gives $10 million to establish teaching
program in industrial health at UM SPH. |
| 1950-60 |
Areas of specialization included environmental
health administration, food protection, environmental chemistry,
air quality, radiological health, water quality. |
| 1956 |
Tecumseh Community Health Study begins,
focusing on behavioral, environmental, and family factors associated
with cardiovascular disease and other chronic conditions. |
| 1970 |
SPH Professor Morton Hilbert co-founds Earth Day |
| 1970 |
Department of Environmental & Industrial
Health formed. |
| 1972 |
On-Job/On-Campus program begins;
program offers intensive weekend MPH curriculum. |
| 1996 |
Current Department of Environmental
Health Sciences formed by SPH reorganization and incorporation
of Human Nutrition Program. |
| 1998 |
Vice President Al Gore names SPH one
of eight Centers of Excellence in Children's Environmental
Health Research. |
|
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