University of Michigan School of Public Health Alumni Magazine Profiles James P. Comer, M.D., M.P.H.
The most recent issue of Findings, the University of Michigan School of Public Health alumni magazine, includes an article, "Pathways of Enlightenment: Could Public Health Help Improve America's Schools?," about distinguished alumnus, Dr. James P. Comer who received his MPH in 1964 and the 2009 he received the prestigious John H. Romani Award from the UM SPH.
Findings editor Leslie Stainton came to New Haven to interview Dr. Comer about the year he spent at the UM SPH and the impact his public health training had on his thinking and life's work. Stainton writes:
"During his year at Michigan, Comer learned valuable organizational and management skills. He'd studied epidemiology and environmental ecology and become fascinated by the parallels between these and what he called 'human ecology, the study of how policies and institutions interact with families and children.' He's written a term paper in which he argued that schools were the only organizations strategically positioned to help all children grow―and to compensate for the difficult conditions that too often interfere with their growth."
Stainton also visited Davis Street 21st Century Magnet School in New Haven to see Dr. Comer’s ideas in practice. “Step into a school like Davis,” said Stainton, “and you feel the difference. Kids walk peacefully through the halls. Teachers are affectionate…….And it’s not just window dressing―the good feelings generated inside Davis Street, as in other Comer schools, translate into higher-than-average scores on standardized tests.”
"Working on this piece, and more importantly, seeing the Comer program in action in New Haven, convinced me that Dr. Comer has indeed found an answer to our nation's troubled educational system, and I now include myself on the long list of advocates of the program," said Stainton. "In short: I'm a believer. It was also incredibly eye-opening to see the connections between public health and education."
