Prof. Lorraine Vogel Klerman (Heller), director of the Institute Child, Youth and Family Policy at the Heller School for Social and Policy Management, passed away last Thursday at the age of 81 "due to complications of cancer," according to an undated news release posted on the Heller School's website. Klerman was a "pioneering health services researcher with a particular interest in health delivery systems for economically deprived women and children," as stated in the news release.

This April Klerman received the Heller School for Social Policy and Management Mentoring Award.

According to the news release, Klerman has mentored many students in public health who went on to become prominent figures in the medical field.

Dean of the Heller School Lisa M. Lynch said in the news release that "[Klerman] was a dedicated and selfless mentor to scores of Heller students over the years. Setting high standards for her students and collegues alike, she enriched all of us and her loss will be hard to accept."

Lynch was not available for further comment by press time.

Prof. Stuart Altman (Heller) said in a phone interview with the Justice that Klerman "combined the best of our professors," explaining that she fused high expectations with compassion.

"She was strict when she needed to be so to make sure that our students attained the highest standards and worked hard-she was no pushover when it came to getting approval for work-but she also had a tremendous compassionate side. Heller has always been a very compassionate school that commits itself to social affairs, and Lorraine very much cared about her students, women, politics and public health, so she was wonderful," he said.

Prof. Christine Bishop (Heller) echoed Altman's sentiments in an e-mail to the Justice.

"Lorraine was a fierce advocate for her students while holding them to the highest standard. She was always thinking of ways to support their development. She always said what she thought even when it wasn't so palatable - she would tell you if she thought a plan or memo made no sense. That made it all the more meaningful when she approved of your thinking," wrote Bishop.

Klerman graduated from Cornell University and received her doctorate from the Harvard University School of Public Health. She received the J. Roswell Gallagher Award of the Society for Adolescent Medicine in 1993 and the American Public Health Association's Martha May Eliot Award in 1996. The latter award is the highest honor given in the field of maternal and child health care. Klerman also published in professional journals and books.

Bishop wrote that Klerman "used a pragmatic public health approach to study the problems of marginalized kids and families, always with the objective of developing pragmatic public policy solutions."

Klerman was married to the late Gerald Klerman, who served as the head of the Alcohol, Drug Abuse and Mental Health Administration under President Jimmy Carter.

Klerman is survived by her four children and eight grandchildren.

Bishop additionally praised Klerman for the legacy she left, particularly in regards to teaching and the impact her work had on families.

"She leaves a legacy of inspiration for all of us, about the lasting value of teaching and learning together and making a our society a more welcoming and nurturing environment for children and their families," Bishop wrote.



-Alana Abramson contributed reporting.