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History of Public Health at Harvard

Manuscripts and archival collections for researching the history of public health, including resources related to the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

Institutional Collections

The following list represents the archival holdings relating to specific departments or offices at the Harvard Chan School, both current and historic. Additional records relating to the School may be discoverable through faculty collectionsUnless otherwise stated, all collections below are unprocessed and available in print, only. To arrange for access, submit a request to the reference team at the Center for the History of Medicine. Please contact the Harvard Chan School Archivist with questions relating to accessing these resources.

This list was last edited on June 13, 2023


Harvard School of Public Health (general)

See also: Jarcho, Irma S. (1918-); Class notes, 1944-1945 (H MS c333) .30 cubic feet, Processed


 

Departments

 

 Arranged alphabetically. Includes both historic and current department names. If a department is not listed below, the Center for the History of Medicine does not have archival records for them. Contact our reference team with questions, or to schedule an appointment.

For a complete list of all departments at the Harvard T.H. Chan School from 1913 - present, please visit Harvard Chan History: All Departments (current and historical).

Department of Biostatistics

See also: Stephen W. Lagakos papers, 1979-2010 (inclusive), 1995-2009 (bulk)Marvin Zelen Papers, 1949-2010 (inclusive)Nan M. Laird papers 1980-2015 (bulk)Jonathan Harr papers, 1982-1995 (inclusive)

See also: Lagakos Papers, Dept. of Biostatstics Records Open to Research (archived blog post)

For a complete list of historical department names and chairs, please see Departmental Histories: Biostatistics.

 

Department of Child Hygiene (historic name)

See also: Department of Social and Behavioral Science (current name), Department of Maternal and Child Health (historic name), Department of Social and Behavioral Medicine (historic name), Department of Health and Social Behavior (historic name), Department of Society, Human Development, and Health (historic name)

 

Department of Environmental Health

See also: Douglas W. Dockery papers, 1974-2013 (inclusive)Joseph D. Brain papers, 1907-2020 (inclusive)Joyce E. Monac photographs of the Department of Environmental Health, circa 1975Melvin W. First papers, 1932-2010 (bulk), Department of Physiology (historic name),

 

Department of Epidemiology

See also: George R. Seage, III papers, 1980-2020 (inclusive)

 

Department of Global Health and Population

See also: Daniel Wikler papers, 1974-2009 (inclusive)Richard A. Cash papers, 1963-2009 (inclusive)Peter A. Berman papers, 1973-2012 (inclusive)Thomas J. Bossert papers, 1973-2019 (inclusive), Stephen P. Marks papers, 1973-2021 (inclusive), Department of Population and International Health (historic name)

For a complete list of historical department names and chairs, please see Department Histories: Global Health and Population.

 

Department of Health Policy and Management

See also: Nancy M. Kane papers, 1970-2018 (inclusive), Lucian L. Leape papers, 1988-2016 (inclusive), Katherine Swartz collection on universal health care, 1967-2012 (inclusive), Papers of Frederick Mosteller, 1946-1988 (inclusive)

 

Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases

See also: Myron Essex papers, 1949-2021 (inclusive) 1965-1996 (bulk)Richard G. Marlink papers, 1978-2011 (inclusive), Department of Tropical Health (historic name)

 

Department of Information Technology

See also: Center Acquires Records on the History of Computing at Harvard Chan (archived blog post)

 

Department of Maternal and Child Health (historic name)

See also: Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences (current name), Department of Health and Social Behavior (historic name), Department of Child Hygiene (historic name), Department of Society, Human Development, and Health (historic name), Steven Lawrence Gortmaker papers, 1955-1998 (inclusive), 1977-1997 (bulk), Marie C. McCormick papers, 1956-2019 (inclusive) 1968-2009 (bulk), Sol Levine Papers, 1954-1997, Rima E. Rudd papers, 1974-2008 (inclusive).

For a complete list of historical department names and chairs, please see Department Histories: Social and Behavioral Sciences

 

Department of Molecular Metabolism

See also: Marianne Wessling-Resnick papers, 1949-2018 (inclusive); Department of Genetics and Complex Diseases (historic name)

For a complete list of historical department names and chairs, please see Departmental Histories: Molecular Metabolism.

 

Department of Nutrition

See also: Fredrick J. Stare papers, 1912-2002 (inclusive), 1950-1999 (bulk), Robert P. Geyer papers, 1940-1990 (bulk), Jean Mayer papers, 1953-1975 (inclusive), 1965-1973 (bulk), Walter Willett papers, 1968-2009 (inclusive), D. Mark Hegsted papers, 1952-1999 (inclusive), 1960-1978 (bulk),  Harvard's Department of Nutrition, 1942-86, Nurses Health Study, Health Professionals Follow-up Study.

 

Department of Population and International Health (historic name)

See also: Department of Global Health and Population (current name)

For a complete list of historical department names and chairs, please see Department Histories: Global Health and Population.

 

Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences

See also: Steven Lawrence Gortmaker papers, 1955-1998 (inclusive), 1977-1997 (bulk), Marie C. McCormick papers, 1956-2019 (inclusive) 1968-2009 (bulk), Glorian Sorensen papers, 1986-2021 (inclusive), Sol Levine Papers, 1954-1997, Rima E. Rudd papers, 1974-2008 (inclusive), Department of Maternal and Child Health (historic name), Department of Health and Social Behavior (historic name), Department of Child Hygiene (historic name), Department of Society, Human Development, and Health (historic name)

For a complete list of historical department names and chairs, please see Department Histories: Social and Behavioral Sciences

 

Department of Society, Human Development, and Health (historic name)

See Also: Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences (current name), Department of Health and Social Behavior (historic name), Department of Child Hygiene (historic name), Department of Society, Human Development, and Health (historic name), Department of Maternal and Child Health (historic name).

For a complete list of historical department names and chairs, please see Department Histories: Social and Behavioral Sciences

 

Department of Tropical Public Health (historic name)


 

Executive & Administrative Offices

 Arranged alphabetically. Includes both historic and current office names. If an office is not listed below, the Center for the History of Medicine does not have archival records for them. Contact our reference team with questions, or to schedule an appointment

Administrative Board

 

Admissions Office

 

Faculty Council

 

Faculty of Public Health

 

Information Technology, Department of

See also: Center Acquires Records on the History of Computing at Harvard Chan (archived blog post)

 

Office for Alumni Affairs and Career Advancement​

 

Office for External Relations

See also: Center Acquires Midcentury Funding Appeals to Arab Countries (archived blog post); Office for Resource Development (historic name)

 

Office for Professional Education

 

Office for Resource Development

See also: Office for External Relations (current name). 

 

Office for Student Affairs

 

Office of Academic Affairs

See also: Office of Faculty Affairs (current name)

 

Office of Communications

 

Office of Educational Programs

Note: Prior to 2014, this office was known as the "Office for Educational Programs". From 2014-2022, it was the "Office of Education". As the functions of the office have not changed, the records have been kept together under the current name. 

 

Office of Human Research Administration

See also: Office of Regulatory Affairs and Research Compliance (current name)

 

Office of Faculty Affairs

See also: Office of Academic Affairs (historic name), Faculty of Public Health

 

Office of the Dean

See also: Record Collections of Harvard Chan Deans (research guide)

 

Operations Office

 

Registrar's Office

 

Student Theses


 

Divisions, Centers, Institutes & Programs

Arranged alphabetically. Includes both historic and current names. If a division, center, institute, or program is not listed below, the Center for the History of Medicine likely does not have archival records for them. Contact our reference team with questions, or to schedule an appointment.

Center for Health Communication

See also: History of the Center for Health Communication at Harvard Chan (libguide)

 

Center for the Analysis of Health Practice

 

Division of Policy Translation and Leadership Development

  • The Forum, 2010-2023 (inclusive) [archived website] - cataloging forthcoming
  • University publications, 2021 (inclusive)  [archived website]
  • Voices, 2014-2023 (inclusive) [archived website] - cataloging forthcoming

 

Division of Public Health Practice

See also: Deborah Prothrow-Stith papers, 1983-2009 (inclusive); Oral history interview with Bruce Smith (watch video online)

 

François-Xavier Bagnoud Center for Health and Human Rights​

See also: Jennifer Leaning papers, 1946-2019 (inclusive)Stephen P. Marks papers, 1973-2021 (inclusive)

 

Harvard AIDS Institute (historic) / Harvard AIDS Initiative 

See also: Myron Essex papers, 1949-2021 (inclusive) 1965-1996 (bulk)Richard G. Marlink papers, 1978-2011 (inclusive), Howard H. Hiatt papers, 1940-2014 (inclusive), 1975-2001 (bulk), William A. Haseltine papers, circa 1944-2008 (inclusive), 1962-2008 (bulk), Department of Global Health

Note that in In 2004, the Harvard AIDS Institute changed its name to the Harvard AIDS Initiative to better reflect the base of activity at the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, Massachusetts.

 

Harvard Center for Cancer Prevention

  • Program establishment, management and review records, 1995-2004 (inclusive) [archived websites] - cataloging in process

 

Harvard Prevention Research Center

See also: Steven Lawrence Gortmaker papers, 1955-1998 (inclusive), 1977-1997 (bulk)

 

India Research Center

 

International Health Systems Program

See also: Thomas J. Bossert papers, 1973-2019 (inclusive),

 

Masters of Public Health Program

 

Maternal and Child Health Center of Excellence

  • University publications, 2022 (inclusive) [archived website] -- cataloging in progress

 

Molecular and Integrative Physiological Sciences Program

 

President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR)

 

Program on International Health and Human Rights

 

Takemi Program in International Health


 

Committees

 Arranged alphabetically. Includes both historic and current names. If a committee is not listed below, contact our reference team who may know of another collection that should be consulted. Please also contact our team to schedule an appointment.

Advisory Committee on Planning

 

Affirmative Action Committee

 

Centennial Committee

 

Committee on Educational Policy

 

EcoOpportunities

 

Standing Committee on Appointments, Reappointments, and Promotions

 

Visiting Committee


 

Research Studies

  Arranged alphabetically. Includes both historic and current names. If a research study is not listed below, contact our reference team who may know of other collections that should be consulted. Please also contact our team to schedule an appointment.

Department of Society, Human Development, and Health

See Also: Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences (current name), Department of Health and Social Behavior (historic name), Department of Child Hygiene (historic name), Department of Society, Human Development, and Health (historic name), Department of Maternal and Child Health (historic name).

 

Harvard Prevention Research Center

See also: Steven Lawrence Gortmaker papers, 1955-1998 (inclusive), 1977-1997 (bulk); Harvard Prevention Research Center and Steven L. Gortmaker Collections Open to Research (archived blog post)

 

Harvard Six Cities Study

See also: Douglas W. Dockery papers, 1974-2013 (inclusive)

 

Longitudinal Studies of Child Health and Development

See also: Records of the Harvard School of Public Health Longitudinal Studies of Child Health and Development Now Open to Research (archived blog post); Staff Finds: Teaching Charts from the HSPH Growth Study (archived blog post); Staff Finds: Growth and Development Charts (archived blog post); Staff Finds: Family Physical Characteristics Trees (archived blog post); Staff Finds: Child Nutrition Brochures and Pamphlets (archived blog post); Processing of the Harvard School of Public Health Longitudinal Studies of Child Health and Development Records (archived blog post)

 

Nurses Health Study

See also: Department of Nutrition, Walter Willett papers, 1968-2009 (inclusive), Frank E. Speizer Papers, 1980-2005

 

Other collections: 

  • Christiani, David C.; papers, 1994-2004 (inclusive); H MS c582, 1 c.f., unprocessed (contact Public Services)
    • Records include a sample of questionnaires from the Arsenic and Human Health in Bangladesh and Lung Cancer studies.

 

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