UCLA PUBLICHEALTH SPRING 2000 - UCLA School of Public Health

CHILDREN’S ADVOCATE ROB REINER CHOSEN
TO DELIVER KEYNOTE AT SPH COMMENCEMENT
DEAN’S MESSAGE
It is with mixed emotions that I
write my last message as dean of the
UCLA School of Public Health. On a
personal level, it has been a wonderful
experience to play a role in the
success of our school and to know
that we are contributing to a healthier
society. But after 15 years in this
position, I have achieved the goals I
established for the school, and it is
time for a new dean to take the helm.
I would like to express my sincerest
thanks to the entire constituency
of our school — faculty, students,
staff, alumni and our many friends
in the community. The school’s
strength lies in your remarkable
talents, your commitment to the
principles of public health and your
dedication to seeing these principles
through. Any success I have enjoyed
is a reflection of that strength.
Now I look forward to joining you
as a loyal member of our school’s
constituency. I pass along the reins
secure in the knowledge that the
UCLA School of Public Health will
continue to soar to new heights.
Abdelmonem A. Afifi, Ph.D.
Rob Reiner
Actor, director and children’s advocate
Rob Reiner has accepted
an invitation to be the keynote
speaker at the 2000 UCLA School
of Public Health Commencement.
Among Reiner’s many activities on
behalf of children, he served as chair
for the campaign of Proposition 10, the
California Children and Families Initiative.
The ballot measure — proposing a
50-cent-per-pack cigarette tax that
would be used to create, on a countyby-county
basis, a comprehensive, integrated
program of early-childhood development
services — was approved by
voters in 1998 and is currently being implemented
by the California Children
and Families First State Commission.
Reiner was appointed by Gov. Gray
Davis to chair the commission, which is
BELOVED LONG-TIME STAFFER SAM LUCAS IS MOURNED
Sam Lucas, one of the school’s most beloved employees,
died in April after a sudden illness. He
was 46.
Lucas served the school for 20 years, the last
five as building manager. “Every UCLA School of
Public Health student, staff and faculty member
for the past 20 years knew Sam,” says Dorothy
Breininger, executive assistant to the dean.
Lucas was well known for his dedication to
the school. “He would brave high winds in his T-
shirt hanging signs announcing an event, then
change his clothes and be at the event to greet
guests, then stay until everyone left so that he
working closely with the school’s Center
for Healthier Children, Families
and Communities, directed by Dr. Neal
Halfon.
Chancellor Albert Carnesale also
announced that he would bestow the
UCLA Medal upon Reiner at the June
18 ceremony. The UCLA Medal is the
university’s highest honor, intended
to recognize singularly important lifetime
contributions to the university or
to society.
1999-00 SPH GRADUATES
BIOSTATISTICS
M.P.H. 8
M.S. 15
Ph.D. 3
COMMUNITY HEALTH SCIENCES
M.P.H. 71
M.P.H./H.P. 4
Dr.P.H. 2
Ph.D. 11
ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH
SCIENCES
M.P.H. 7
M.S. 9
Ph.D. 5
D.Env. 3
EPIDEMIOLOGY
M.P.H. 36
M.S. 5
Dr.P.H. 1
Ph.D. 2
HEALTH SERVICES
M.P.H. 37
M.P.H./H.P. 20
M.S. 7
Ph.D. 5
SCHOOL TOTAL 251
could clean up,” Breininger says. Lucas touched
so many people that, when a school-wide e-mail
was circulated announcing that he was hospitalized
at UCLA Medical Center and needed blood,
the response was overwhelming. “Within minutes,
everyone from the facilities employees and
electricians to the school’s faculty, students and
staff was lined up at the blood donation center,”
says Breininger. “It was a wonderful testimonial to
how much Sam was loved.”
A scholarship fund has been established in
Sam Lucas’ honor. Donations can be made by
contacting the Dean’s Office.