Professor of Medicine
Dean of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, 1972-1984
Howard H. Hiatt, MD, was born in Patchogue, NY. He enrolled in Harvard College in 1944 and ascended to Harvard Medical School (graduating in 1948) without first earning his AB degree.
Dr. Hiatt was the first Blumgart Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and the physician-in-chief at Beth Israel Hospital from 1963 to 1972. In 1972, he became the dean of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, a role he held until 1984.
In 1985, he resumed teaching at Harvard Medical School and as a Senior Physician at Brigham and Women's Hospital. He is a member of the Board of Directors of Partners in Health and a member emeritus of the Task Force for Global Health. Dr. Hiatt is a leader in the field of human rights.
”…… when we started the program at Beth Israel Hospital -- the training program -- there were no women in the residency -- or almost none. We started something in that realm. There were no minorities in the residency -- we addressed that problem too. And, that, you know, was an opportunity I had to address issues that I thought needed attention.” (1:10-1:38)
“I became conscious of how much the Beth Israel Hospital was doing for the patients who came to it, but how little we were doing for people not very far away, who lived in impoverished areas in Boston. That was a lesson that was not difficult to learn.” (13:44-14:10)
“Because the war was on and it was really not possible to continue without abbreviating considerably my college experience, I left without a Harvard degree, that is, a bachelor’s degree.” (27:56-28:39)
“And we began -- we continued to do what I’d been doing. Continued to work in neighborhoods. I had tried -- started -- some programs. Many. And tried to start others. For example, I wanted to change the principal degree at the School of Public Health is what’s called the MPH, the Masters of Public Health.” (38:50-39:28)
“It’s now the biggest program in the School of Public Health. It, I think, takes 170 students a year for a two-year program. The only reason it’s not more than 170 is that there’s no amphitheater over there that takes more. It’s the biggest program at the school and it’s the program I wanted to set up at the school and now exists at the school.” (43:46-44:19)
“So, that was the beginning of the Division of Global Health Equity…that’s been my activity here, primarily, and now helping that get underway is establishing a relationship with the 501(c)(3) organization called Partners in Health.” (47:07-47:44)
”And then I had a call from the new president of Yale. He said that he had heard about my interests. He said he thought they coincided with his, and would I come to New Haven and look at that position? I did, and it looked just right. He was all for bringing the medical school and the university together in closer relationship and for bringing the medical school into closer relationship with its community.” (53:36-54:17)