News Release

Dean Emeritus Myron E. Wegman dies at age 95.

April 14, 2004 press release from the University of Michigan School of Public Health.

Updated September 9, 2004.

Myron Wegman

ANN ARBOR, Mich.—Myron Ezra Wegman, BA, MD, MPH, dean emeritus of the University of Michigan School of Public Health , emeritus John G. Searle Professor of Public Health, and professor emeritus of pediatrics and communicable diseases, died April 14, 2004. He was 95.

"Myron Wegman was an inspiration for literally thousands of people around the world," said SPH Dean Noreen Clark. "He left a tremendous legacy at the School of Public Health. Under his direction, research flourished, he built a new building, the curriculum was strengthened, and the international presence of Michigan was greatly amplified."

Born in Brooklyn, New York, on July 23, 1908, Wegman completed his BA at the City College of New York, his MD at the Yale University School of Medicine, and his MPH at Johns Hopkins University. His career in pediatrics and international health spanned seven decades and included periods as a full-time clinical pediatrician, as well as more than 50 years of full-time work in public health, including 14 years as dean of the University of Michigan School of Public Health.

During his tenure as dean of the School of Public Health and professor of public health from 1960 to 1974, Wegman actively led the school through a period of significant expansion to become one of the leading schools of public health in the world. Throughout his deanship he taught courses in international health, and in conjunction with his appointment to the Medical School faculty in 1961, held rounds for medical students and pediatric residents. In 1974 he returned to the full time SPH faculty where he served until 1978. During this time, he strengthened the school's work in international health and provided leadership to a schoolwide program in preventive medicine and public health. Following his retirement in 1978, Wegman continued to teach at the school and to be active in public health work at the local, state, national and international levels.

He published more than 200 articles, from basic work in pediatrics to articles focused on the fundamental problems of health policy and administration. At Dr. Benjamin Spock's request, Wegman read and commented on the original manuscript of The Common Sense Guide to Baby and Child Care. Wegman's efforts have been acknowledged in every subsequent edition of the book. In 1997, Wegman reluctantly gave up publishing the Annual Summary of Vital Statistics in Pediatrics, a task he had undertaken yearly since 1949.

Wegman began his career as a pediatric consultant in Maryland. He went on to serve with the New York City Health Department and spent eight years at the Pan American Sanitary Bureau (now the Pan American Health Organization), Regional Office of the World Health Organization, the last three years as Secretary General. His academic career included appointments at the Yale University School of Medicine, the Johns Hopkins Schools of Hygiene and Medicine, Cornell University School of Medicine, Columbia University School of Public Health, and the School of Tropical Medicine of the University of Puerto Rico. He also served as chair and professor of pediatrics of the Louisiana State University School of Medicine. A member of several medical and professional organizations, Wegman was president of the American Public Health Association during the association's centennial year in 1972. In 1967, he was awarded the Bronfman Prize for excellence in public health by the American Public Health Association and in 1974 received the Sedgwick Medal for distinguished service in public health.

Among his many other honors, Wegman was City College of New York Class of 1928 Man of the Year and received CCNY's Townsend Harris Medal for outstanding accomplishments. In the 1990's, he and his brothers established a professorship at CCNY for the development of outstanding young faculty. Wegman was also elected a member of the Johns Hopkins University Society of Scholars and the first winner of the Walter P. Reuther Distinguished Service Award, and an honorary member of the pediatric societies of Equador, Peru and Argentina, and the Royal Society of Health.

Former U.S. Surgeon General William Stewart once described Wegman as "the sports car version of a professor – zero to 65 miles an hour in 6.7 seconds." In an interview on the occasion of his 90th birthday, Wegman offered this advice to public health students: "There's as much satisfaction in preventing death and disability in large numbers of people as there is in the drama of curing a single ill person."

Wegman is survived by his children David (Peggy) Wegman and Jane (David) Dunatchik; a younger brother, Edwin (Toby); grandchildren, Laura Johnson, Jesse and Marya Wegman, Katrina Boulding, and Ryan Petersen; and great grandchildren Mark, Angela and Kelly. His wife of 60 years, Isabel, and his daughters Judy (John) Hirst and Betty (Ralph) Petersen, preceded him in death.

A memorial celebration is planned for May 21 at the Michigan League, at 3:30 pm. In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to the Myron and Isabel Wegman Scholarship Fund at the University of Michigan School of Public Health, 109 South Observatory Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2029.

Contact: Terri Mellow
Phone: (734) 764-8094
E-mail: twm@umich.edu

Myron E. Wegman, second from left, joins international officials marking the 100th anniversary of the WHO Pan American Health Organization (PAHO).

From left: Hector Acuna, former director of the Pan American Sanitary Bureau (PASB/WHO); Myron Wegman, former UM SPH dean and professor emeritus and former head of PAHO; Brenda Simons Gilliam, president of the PASB/WHO staff association; Sir George Alleyne, former director of PASB/WHO; and PASB/WHO director Mirta Roses.