Prof. Emeritus Arthur F. Southwick died March 3

March 5, 1997
Contact:

ANN ARBOR—Arthur F. Southwick, professor emeritus of health services management and policy at the University of Michigan School of Public Health and professor emeritus of business law at the U-M School of Business Administration, died here March 3. He was 73.

“Two hallmarks of Prof. Southwick?s career were his concern for students and his emphasis on high quality research,” said the U-M Regents when he retired in 1990. “His concern for students was reflected in his thorough preparation, lively classroom coverage of complex legal issues, and long hours devoted to providing students with individual feedback on their examinations and research assignments.

“His emphasis on high quality research was indicative of his interest in students, in that he firmly believed that research provides the foundation for excellence in teaching.”

Co-author of the book, “The Law of Hospital and Health Care Administration,” and of numerous articles and book chapters, Southwick’s work is frequently cited in research journals and court decisions. It also has had a significant influence on the development of hospital and health care law.

Southwick graduated in 1947 from the College of Wooster with a B.A. degree. He received an M.B.A degree from the U-M Business School in 1950 and a J.D. degree from the U-M Law School in 1951.

Except for a visiting professorship in 1985 at the Harvard University School of Public Health, Southwick served virtually his entire academic career at U-M. He joined the faculty as an assistant professor in 1956, promoted to associate professor in 1961 and to professor in 1966.

Southwick also served on the boards of editors of the American Journal of Law and Medicine and on the editorial advisory board of Issues in Health Care Technology and Hospital Risk Control. He also was a charter member of the Society of Hospital Attorneys of the American Hospital Association.

Southwick is survived by his wife, Elizabeth; daughters, Nancy Rago of Falmouth, Mass., Joanne Jellison of Holland, Mich., and Leslie Wilhelm of Plymouth, Mich.; a brother, Charles, of Boulder, Colo., and seven grandchildren.

Funeral services will be held at 11:30 a.m., Friday (March 7) at the First Presbyterian Church in Ann Arbor. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Arthur F. Southwick Family Book Fund, the College of Wooster, Wooster, Ohio, 44691.