Abstract |
- The purpose of this study of the life and career of Dr. Carl
Leonard Anderson was to recount his professional contributions to
the field of health and relate these to public health and health education. The major emphasis of this study concerned Dr. Anderson's
professional life.
The accomplishment of the study depended upon (1) primary
source material such as taped interviews, personal communications,
and questionnaires provided by Dr. Anderson, his family, and his
professional associates; and (2) secondary sources including books,
newspapers, theses, and other publications related to historical research.
Ironwood, a small mining town in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan,
was Carl Leonard Anderson's home during his formative years. He was born on February 28, 1901, to Swedish immigrant parents.
He attended the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, graduating in
the upper two percent of his class in 1928. He taught for two years
at a high school in Grosse Ile, Michigan, and returned to the University
of Michigan to complete master's and doctoral degrees in public
health.
Carl Anderson worked for public health departments in Michigan
until 1935, when he left public health for the classroom. He was
chairman of the Department of Physiology, Public Health and Hygiene
at Utah State University for ten years; a professor of Biological
Science at Michigan State University for four years; and head of the
Department of Health at Oregon State University for 22 years.
Dr. Anderson believes that no one can take from an individual
the gratification of a life of service, dedicated to the betterment of
humanity. This belief was exemplified throughout his professional
life by the many official and voluntary health organizations he served,
including the Oregon Heart Association, the Oregon State Department
of Education, and the Oregon State Department of Human Resources,
Health Division.
He also served as a member and chairman of numerous committees
in national, regional, and state professional organizations.
Dr. Anderson's contributions to such organizations as the state and
regional affiliates of the American Association for Health, Physical Education, and Recreation, and the American Public Health Association
were extensive.
He received several honors and awards including the Oregon
Heart Association's Outstanding Volunteer Award in 1969, and an
Honorary Life Membership Award from the Oregon Association for
Health, Physical Education and Recreation in 1965. In 1972, shortly
after his retirement, he received the Distinguished Professor Award
at Oregon State University.
Among Dr. Anderson's greatest professional contributions to
the fields of public health and health education are the four textbooks
he wrote. They have been used by a quarter of a million readers
throughout the United States, Canada, England, Japan, and other
parts of the world by schools, colleges and universities, public
health organizations, and schools of medicine and nursing.
His accomplishments through his teaching, volunteer work,
and administration are recognized by leaders- of his generation in the
health profession. Documentary evidence and professional citations
lend support to the conclusion that Carl L. Anderson was an important
contributor to the development of the field of health.
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