Our Department's History
1940s |1950s | 1960s | 1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s

194Os

1947 — Environmental Health division created within UW's new Department of Preventive Medicine
1948 — First four graduates in Sanitary Science
1949 — Construction of Health Sciences Building

195Os

1951 — Environmental Research Laboratory established to provide industrial hygiene services for industry and air pollution studies for local governments
1951 — Jack Hatlen (one of first four Sanitary Science graduates) joins faculty

196Os

1963 — Washington State Legislature funds the Environmental Research Lab to do research, teaching, and service in occupational health
1966 — F-wing is added to the Health Sciences Center to house our department
1967— Environmental Health undergraduate program accredited

1970s

1970 — Department of Environmental Health becomes part of new School of Public Health and Community Medicine
1972 — OSHA Safety and Health Act, Clean Water Act and Clean Air Act enacted
1973 — Carl Osaki receives first master's degree
1977 — NIOSH establishes Northwest Center for Occupational Health & Safety; EH Lab accredited by the American Industrial Hygiene Association

1980s

1980 — Congress passes Superfund law in response to the Love Canal disaster
1981 — The soulcatcher, a Northwest Indian symbol for physical and spritual well-being, is designed by Marvin Oliver as the logo for the School of Public Health and Community Medicine
1986 — UW becomes one of four universities to receive a National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) Superfund Basic Research Grant
1987 — Occupational and Environmental Medicine Program becomes a hybrid between our department and the Department of Medicine

1990s

1990 — Gerald van Belle named chair after the untimely death of Sheldon Murphy
1994 — Kay Teschke earns first PhD degree

2000s

2000 — Dave Kalman becomes chair
2003 — Name changes to Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences
2007 — Restructuring of Industrial Hygiene and Safety program into Occupational and Environmental Exposure Sciences

SPHCM HISTORY PROJECT

The School of Public Health and Community Medicine has launched a history project, which includes videotaped interviews of the school's early faculty. Our department's history has thus far been told by faculty members Pete Breysse, Tom Grayston, Jack Hatlen, Jane Koenig, Gil Omenn, and Gerald van Belle. A photo archive and a timeline are also part of the project. Blending old and new media, the school's history will eventually be posted online in the open and collaborative tradition of the online encyclopedia Wikipedia. If you would like to contribute to the history project, please contact Holly Weese, hweese@u.washington.edu or 206-685-6643. Please visit the archive's website, where you can see the faculty interviews.