Charles R. Hatcher Jr., vice president for Health Affairs and director of the Woodruff Health Sciences Center, said, "Dr. Curran is a towering figure in international and public health, with interest and expertise in one of the major public health problems affecting the world today. He built a truly remarkable organization at the CDC, establishing a team that produced cutting edge research in AIDS during a time of intense change. He epitomizes many of public health's most noble and promising aspects, and we believe he will be a strong leader who can take the young Rollins School of Public Health to its next stage of development and excellence."
Curran sprang to world view in the early 1980s when it became obvious that the spread of a new lethal disease, later recognized as being caused by a human immunodeficiency virus, was increasing exponentially in the United States. At the time, he was chief of the Operational Research Branch, Venereal Disease Control Division, CDC. As the AIDS story unfolded, Curran became the primary representative, for many Americans, of what public health does and how it works.
"I am honored to be selected as dean of the Rollins School of Public Health," said Curran. "In a very short period of time, the school has become a substantial force in public health through its missions of teaching, research and service. I look forward to working with the faculty, staff and students to expand Emory's impact on public health locally, nationally and internationally in the future."
President Bill Chace called the appointment a "triumph for Emory, and an opportunity for an increasingly international university to take advantage of Dr. Curran's experiences and knowledge of world health and international issues. With him at the helm, we expect the Rollins School of Public Health to continue to expand its influence for the good of all Americans and the world at large."
Billy Frye, provost and vice president for academic affairs, said that "Dr. Curran is an articulate and passionate advocate for public health issues who can lead the Rollins School into the next century. I am very pleased that Dr. Curran enjoys such strong support of the faculty, for it is they who will, under his leadership, bring the Rollins School of Public Health into a leadership position in the profession by the turn of the century. I am excited about the prospect of working with him to fulfill this ambition."
Richard Levinson, the Charles Howard Candler Professor who has served both as interim dean of the School of Public Health this past year and as chair of the search committee for the new dean, said, "Dr. Curran has been a major force in public health involving AIDS, but he is broadly committed to health promotion and disease prevention in general. I also am especially pleased to have a new dean who can further strengthen the strong and meaningful ties between the Rollins School and the CDC."
After growing up in Detroit, Curran attended the University of Notre Dame and received his medical degree from the University of Michigan in 1970. He came to the CDC directly from medical school. As a clinical research investigator in the Venereal Disease Branch, he gained an appreciation of the public health approach to illness that sent him back to school. In 1974, he received his Master of Public Health degree from Harvard University School of Public Health, where he was a resident in general preventive medicine and a fellow at the Harvard Center for Community Health and Medical Care.
In 1975, Curran returned to the CDC and was based in Columbus, Ohio, where he also served as assistant commissioner of health in the Columbus City Health Department. He was an assistant professor in the Department of Preventive and Community Medicine, and the Department of Medicine, at Ohio State University College of Medicine.
Curran moved to Atlanta in 1978 to become chief of the Research Branch, Venereal Disease Control Division. After 1982, his positions at the CDC reflected the growing impact of AIDS and Curran's equally growing expertise in how to track the disease and attempt to stem its spread. He became chief of the AIDS Branch in 1984, director of the AIDS Program in 1985, and director of the Division of HIV/AIDS in 1989.
For the past 10 years Curran also has served as director of the World Health Organization Collaborating Center for AIDS and Retroviruses. In 1991, he was named assistant surgeon general of the U.S. Public Health Service. He is an advisor to the Combined United Nations Program on AIDS, a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the World AIDS Foundation, and an advisor to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and many other international groups.
In 1993, Curran was elected to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Science, one of numerous awards he has won in medicine and public health. He is the author of more than 220 scientific publications, and is associate editor of the American Journal of Epidemiology.
-- Sylvia Wrobel