Steven "Steve" Whitman (1943–2014) was an American social epidemiologist and public health researcher.
Early life and education
editWhitman grew up in a poor household in Brooklyn, New York. He received his master's degree in biometrics from the University of Pittsburgh in 1964, followed by a master's degree in biostatistics from Yale University in 1968. He went on to receive his Ph.D. in biostatistics from Yale in 1969.[1][2]
Career
editWhitman joined the faculty of Miles College in Birmingham, Alabama after graduating from Yale. He also taught at other institutions in Birmingham, such as Holy Family Catholic High School, before joining the faculty of Chicago's Northwestern University in 1978. At Northwestern, he was a senior epidemiologist at the Center for Urban Affairs and Policy Research (since renamed the Institute for Policy Research) from 1978 to 1991. In 1991, he left the faculty of Northwestern to join the Chicago Department of Public Health as deputy commissioner and director of the epidemiology program. In 2000, he was hired to found the Sinai Urban Health Institute (SUHI), at which point he left the Chicago Department of Public Health. He served the head of the SUHI from 2000 until his death.[1][2]
Research
editAs head of the Chicago Department of Public Health's epidemiology program, Whitman played a major role in studying and explaining the 1995 Chicago heat wave.[1][3] At the SUHI, he conducted research on racial disparities in breast cancer mortality among women in Chicago and other American cities.[4] He also researched racial disparities in health in the United States more generally.[5]
Death
editWhitman died of cancer on July 21, 2014, at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago; he was 71 years old.[1] He is survived by his wife, Nancy Kurshan and their two children, Rosa Kurshan-Emmer and Michael Kurshan-Emmer, along with his adoptive daughter, professor and writer Imani Perry (from his marriage to Theresa Perry).[6]
References
edit- ^ a b c d Tribune, Graydon Meagan, Special to the (27 July 2014). "Steven Whitman, social epidemiologist, 1943-2014". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2017-07-17.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ a b "SUHI Staff: Steve Whitman". www.sinai.org. Retrieved 2017-07-17.
- ^ Bahrampour, Tara (2002-08-13). "Most Deadly of the Natural Disasters: The Heat Wave". The New York Times. Retrieved 2017-07-17.
- ^ "Statement on the Passing of Dr. Steve Whitman". www.cityofchicago.org. 22 July 2014. Retrieved 2017-07-17.
- ^ Tritsch, Shane (19 September 2007). "The Deadly Difference". Chicago Magazine. Retrieved 2017-07-17.
- ^ Ihejirika, Maudlyne (July 23, 2014). "Chicago Sun-Times Obituary: Steve Whitman". Retrieved 2023-05-10 – via PressReader.