Schaffner to receive public health award
The American Public Health Association (APHA) is awarding William Schaffner, M.D., professor and chair of Preventive Medicine, with the 2010 Sedgwick Memorial Medal for Distinguished Service in Public Health during its Nov. 9 annual meeting in Denver.
William Schaffner, M.D.
The Sedgwick Memorial Medal, instituted in 1929, is awarded annually to an individual who has demonstrated a remarkable record of service in the advancement of public health knowledge and practice. It is the APHA's oldest continuing award and most cherished honor.
“I am extremely pleased to bring this recognition to Vanderbilt,” Schaffner said. “My work with many colleagues here, and at the Tennessee Department of Health, has made this possible.”
Vanderbilt's only previous recipients are Wilson G. Smillie in 1954 and Ernest W. Goodpasture in 1944.
“In conferring this award, the committee recognized you as a giant in the field of public health,” APHA Executive Director Georges Benjamin, M.D., said in a letter to Schaffner. “For more than 48 years you have devoted your career to the advancement of public health, knowledge and practices, especially in the field of infectious diseases.”
The Sedgwick Memorial Medal, established in honor of the late Professor William Thompson Sedgwick, consists of an engraved medal and certificate.