Abstract
We close this tribute issue with our personal reflections on Noreen’s life and contributions and other comments from multiple friends and colleagues. Noreen was a quintessential leader as she so thoughtfully defined in her article in this issue on leading, following, or getting out of the way. She noted that leaders show the way, guide us, cause progress, create a path, influence, and begin. Noreen’s leadership embodied all of these characteristics as they are represented in the essays and quotes below. She led by example, motivated people to do their best, and made clear where she was going. As described in the introductory article in this issue, Noreen spoke long ago of the pressing need to address chronic disease management and she slowly, methodologically, and brilliantly created the Center for Managing Chronic Disease that was based at the University of Michigan. The Center has focused on behavior and the social aspects of chronic disease management. She has influenced health education thinking since well before she was President of the Society for Public Health Education. As dean of the University of Michigan School of Public Health she created our first official Office of Public Health Practice and moved the school toward a more community-based, applied, and population-based focus. Noreen also created multiple paths for many people through her career. She led as a teacher, advisor, and mentor. She mentored people by helping them think critically about the future. Noreen helped people see things in their own work they had not seen before and guided them to put their ideas into action. Yet, Noreen’s most lasting gift as a mentor was the many opportunities she shared or gave away so effortlessly to those with whom she worked. Noreen knew how to lead from the front when necessary and to lead from the back to let others shine.
Noreen was also the ultimate optimist. She always had hope that we could achieve social justice and equity in public health, and that person-centered care and public health education approaches could help achieve these goals. She believed in building health systems that value opportunities for people to develop the skills and capabilities to take care of their own health whether to prevent or postpone disease, or manage the chronic disease that most people eventually face.
Noreen’s many qualities are captured poignantly in the Perspective Section and the following excerpts from remarks made at two celebrations of Noreen’s life held in New York City and Ann Arbor (http://sph.umich.edu/noreenclark/memorial-video.html), and an In Memoriam website for people to write comments about their experiences involving Noreen (http://sph.umich.edu/noreenclark/guestbook.html). The excerpts are presented in alphabetical order with those from the celebrations indicated with an asterisk (*). We selected excerpts from hundreds of entries on the website to represent the range of people she touched and that captured her many personal qualities. The following comments give a flavor of Noreen the leader, mentor, teacher, and friend.
Barbara A. Israel, DrPH
Nancy K. Janz, PhD
Megan E. Jensen, BA
Marc A. Zimmerman, PhD
Guest Editors
Reflections From the University of Michigan In Memoriam Public Guest Book and Excerpts Taken From Celebrations of Noreen’s Life
I had the pleasure of working with Noreen when she was dean of the School of Public Health [at University of Michigan]. At the time I was dean of the School of Social Work. We collaborated together on various research initiatives that brought intellectual value to the campus, the state and nation. We were also both members of the Institute of Medicine and both passionately committed to working within the organization to focus and address the nation’s and indeed, the world’s disparities in health and health care. From Europe, to Africa, Asia and more, she brought light and resources to health problems within specific groups, from traditionally disadvantaged ethnic minorities to economically challenged communities. Noreen was the consummate scholar and a valued friend. Her legacy is immeasurable, but she leaves with us a rich and well laid path from which to continue her compassionate work.
Paula Allen-Meares, PhD
Chancellor, University of Illinois at Chicago
Vice President, University of Illinois
John Corbally Presidential Professor
Thank you, Noreen. I will miss your bright, infectious, intelligent, and compassionate spirit. I am fortunate to have been imprinted by the power of your presence, your strength, integrity, and humility. I am honored and blessed that our paths crossed in life.
Gillian Barclay, DDS, MPH, DrPH
Vice President, Aetna Foundation
Noreen was the chair of Health Behavior and Health Education when I began my MPH program. She was an inspiration in her dedication, her humor, and her ability to problem-solve while staying inclusive and open to new ideas. When a group of us wanted to start a student organization in HBHE (Health Behavior and Health Education Student Association), Noreen was incredibly supportive and welcoming of the idea. She always took us seriously and often sought our opinions on decisions she was considering for the Department. As I began my doctoral studies, my interests developed and became less clearly aligned with her own work. Regardless, Noreen continued to check in with me, to let me know she was there to support me if needed, and was always interested in how I was doing. Every year when I would see her at APHA, Noreen would always take time to check in and ask about my work and my family. I will miss Noreen and am glad I had so many years to get to know her and be inspired by her—as a teacher, a leader, and a friend.
Adam Becker, PhD, MPH
Associate Professor, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
It is undeniable that Noreen Clark—our Noreen—was a star. That’s a pretty easy lift, yes? Yet unlike other simpler suns if you will—Noreen’s brilliance was not only plain to see—it was a star uniquely and beautifully and tenderly and lovingly dosed and often personally applied . . . and it provided so many of us over and over and over again with the warmth and protection and guidance to achieve what we alone, without it—in darkness or ignorance, in disease or loneliness, or in base need of collegiality or friendship at its core—what we alone or without it through its warmth and guidance could not have imagined as possible and certainly could not feel as deserved . . . a loving brilliance that was “spot on” pure Noreen—given in a way that each and every one of us here collectively and personally still feels so deeply.
Randall Brown, MD, MPH*
Director of Asthma Programs, Center for Managing Chronic Disease, University of Michigan
Noreen Clark was no typical dean. She worked for and with her faculty and students, and they knew it. A good dean advocates for her faculty and students. And Noreen worked diligently and with tremendous passion for both the School of Public Health and the practice of public health. She was a joy to work with. When the School was expanding she was so enthusiastic about what it meant for teaching and research. Today, the School of Public Health is a warm, welcoming space that truly embodies the work carried out every day. It is a place that encourages teamwork and community. Simply put, it feels good to be there. And that was Noreen. She wanted to celebrate public health and its critical importance to our world. She was so insightful and so passionate about preventing disease and the many ways the School approached that mission. And she herself made an impact as a scholar. I greatly admired her scholarly work when she left the deanship and her dedication to finding ways to help those with chronic diseases. I think the greatest tribute we could make to Noreen would be one that mimics her as a person and a scholar. That we conduct ourselves with integrity, with passion, with kindness, and with a genuine zeal for making the world a healthier place.
Mary Sue Coleman, PhD
President Emerita, University of Michigan
What an exceptional human being—her touch was magic—whatever arena she was in! How fortunate so many of us have been to be within her sphere—and what an extraordinary impact she had on so many lives—personally and professionally. Her questions were deep and she made you think—and you came out better! She modeled co-learning and co-creation like none other. How fortunate I was to work with her at the University [of Michigan] with Allies Against Asthma and later with Food & Fitness. May her memory be for a blessing.
Linda Jo Doctor, MPH
Program Officer, W.K. Kellogg Foundation
She had the ability to make people believe that big things could be successfully accomplished. It is no wonder that she loved the concept of self-efficacy, which describes her life. Though I know that self-efficacy is supposed to be task-specific, I found that hers rubbed off on me. . . . I was always amazed at Noreen’s ability to disagree directly with people and somehow get them to endorse her view without offending them. She would say, “Yes, I think that’s very important, and I think we also need to do (more or less the opposite).” Then I would see the other person nodding, looking slightly confused, but accepting. . . . I believe that when people we love die, their spirits live on inside ours, and they pay us visits when we are doing something that would matter to them. Noreen was an absolutely indelible person, and although we miss her, we should take pleasure in her company when she comes to call.
David Evans, PhD*
Professor Emeritus, Columbia University
We met as undergraduates at the University of Utah . . . and were filled with the excitement and energy and high spirits of youth—qualities that Noreen never lost. She was a beautiful blonde with big blue eyes, a ready smile, delightfully smart, alert, and quick to respond and engage herself in whatever was going on that was of interest . . . She was unpretentious and modest about her remarkable career and made light of her extensive travels and ground-breaking work so we could focus, as good friends do, on all of life’s delicious and wonderfully complex and intricate details. But important, weighty matters are always imbedded in the smaller ones, and you come to know the strength of a friendship by how that friend pays attention to what you say and shares her heart with you. Noreen listened, questioned, laughed, understood, shared opinions, and shared her heart. And you knew in your heart, without a doubt, that she was on your side.
Helen H. Houghton*
Personal Friend, New York, New York
Noreen guided and inspired me throughout several phases of my career. I’ve never met anyone who was so gifted at fostering a sense of confidence in her students and staff. Everyone around her rose to meet her high expectations. I will miss so many things about her: her wisdom, her quick wit and ever-present humor, her graceful way of speaking and writing, her focus on the things that mattered, her flexibility and understanding, and her far-reaching vision. So many of us will carry Noreen with us in the work we do, and her positive impact will continue to grow.
Mary R. Janevic, PhD
Assistant Research Scientist, Center for Managing Chronic Disease, University of Michigan
She would rarely talk about herself unless you asked her, but if you did ask her, it was fascinating to hear about her projects, her perspectives, and staggering to comprehend the scale of the work she was doing. I am so proud of Noreen and all her accomplishments in the field of public health. I don’t know how she did it all, but hers was an incredible life, lived to the fullest. And I think, even more impressive, was that despite her remarkable career, Noreen was such a humble, understated, and easy-going person. She could talk to anyone; she could make anyone feel at ease, welcomed, and comfortable.
Stephanie Johnes*
Goddaughter, New York, New York
All her life, Noreen brought people together. She shared us all. She had the most enormous extended family, all over the world, and she included all of us in it. We were lucky. We knew her parents, we know her childhood friends, George and his family and friends, her adult friends, and so many of you—her wonderful friends.
Susan Jordan & M.C. Marden*
Personal Friends, New York, New York
As I neared retirement and anticipated more time for my interests, I realized that Noreen had a growing curiosity about fly fishing—one of my passions. She, of course, grew up in the west spending summers with her family in Jackson, Wyoming. Beyond that I am sure her Scottish heritage was also a driving factor. . . . I can still picture Noreen with a fly rod practicing her first casts on the front lawn of our Ann Arbor home with the line falling at her feet, and I can also picture her a few years later making beautiful casts while floating down one of several rivers. She indeed became a very accomplished angler. She was skilled enough to enjoy fishing in New Zealand, Scotland, as well as her home rivers in the American west. . . . A day on the river with Noreen was always a wonderful interlude. Rain or shine, cold or hot, catching fish or not, erudite conversation or silence, a guide’s gourmet shore lunch or a smashed sandwich with crushed chips—no matter, it was a wonderful experience to treasure.
William Kotowicz, DDS, MS*
Personal Friend & Dean Emeritus, University of Michigan
What many of us have learned . . . are small parts of the life of a great woman: A master researcher, dedicated academic administrator, a caring mentor, and beloved wife of George. Noreen could fill an entire auditorium and discuss the most complex issues, and still find those quiet moments to talk and gossip about the day’s events. It was this dichotomy that made her so valuable to her friends and academic colleagues.
Harvey L. Leo, MD*
Clinician and Research Scientist, Center for Managing Chronic Disease, University of Michigan
Noreen’s grace, compassion, dedication, and heart have touched millions. This is quite literally because the innovative programs she spearheaded and championed for have reached millions worldwide. Her legacy has no bounds, and I’m confident that millions more will have the privilege of her reach. Noreen was an exceptional mentor, teacher, friend, colleague, leader, and boss to many. It’s a privilege and honor to have been trained by her, and be among the countless number of individuals who fondly hold those experiences with her as critical and memorable. . . . Noreen, you will forever be in our hearts.
Minal R. Patel, PhD
Assistant Professor, Health Behavior & Health Education, University of Michigan School of Public Health
It is the habit of deans that we think perfect thoughts—or we like to think we do! We come up with perfect plans, and we present them, fully expecting everyone to embrace them. Not infrequently I would take a perfectly formed gem of an idea to Noreen, sit in front of that desk of hers, and just lay it out, beautifully. And she would use a simple couplet: “Perhaps not.” And then, the lilting joy of her Scottish heritage would come through her voice, and that glint that you know well would shine through her eyes, and she’d say, “You know . . .” Then the quartet would develop, much like a Mozart fugue . . . “It occurs to me . . .” And after just moments, she would have absorbed that entire concept, reconfigured it, laid it out beautifully in front of you, and convinced you that it was your idea. The magic of this was that she took no public ownership. Her joy was to see that everybody benefited, without rancor, without jealousy, but with joy.
Martin Philbert, PhD, FRSC*
Dean, School of Public Health, University of Michigan
Noreen was a mentor and an inspiration. Her intelligence, compassion and essential humanity were unparalleled. She led the School of Public Health with grace, commitment and insight that have helped thousands of students and many thousands more throughout the world who have benefited from her work. I feel privileged to not only have seen the impact of her work but to have also known her as a colleague and a friend. I feel her loss deeply.
Marianne Udow-Phillips, MHSA
Director, Center for Healthcare Research & Transformation, University of Michigan
Although Noreen left, please trust, we, the medical doctors, health care workers, and health educators will continue her career in China. We grieve for the loss of our mentor and teacher, our role model, and our dear friend, Professor Noreen Clark. Her eighteen years of contribution and fruitful achievement in health education to children with asthma in China will be always remembered and followed generation by generation.
Chen Yuzhi, MD
Director, Asthma Education Project, Beijing Pediatrics Institute, China
Marc A. Zimmerman, PhD
Professor, Health Behavior & Health Education, University of Michigan School of Public Health
