Public health leader and social activist Eugene Feingold dies at age 71

October 15, 2002
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ANN ARBOR—Eugene Feingold, an active member of the regional and national public health community, died Sunday (Oct. 13) in Ann Arbor. He was 71. Feingold, professor emeritus of health management and policy at the University of Michigan School of Public Health, was a past president of the American Public Health Association and past chair of the board of directors of the Michigan League for Human Services. He chaired Educators for Tobacco-Free Investments by TIAA-CREF, and was a member of the boards of directors of M-CARE, U-M’s managed care organization, and the Corner Health Center, a medical care and health education center for adolescents in Ypsilanti. He chaired the advisory committee of the U-M Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program until his death. As a full-time faculty member at the U-M School of Public Health, where he spent most of his professional career, Feingold taught about the politics of health care and chaired his department. He also served as acting dean and associate dean of the Rackham Graduate School. He was a member of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary’s Council on Health Promotion and Disease Prevention and of the Core Public Health Functions Steering Committee and of other federal and state advisory committees. Feingold consulted for various government agencies dealing with the organization and financing of health care. Feingold was a member of the national board of directors of the American Civil Liberties Union, and earned the Jerome Strong Award in 2001 for his service to the ACLU of Michigan. He was active in community organizations concerned with civil liberties, poverty, and racial discrimination, as well. Feingold was a past member of the State of Michigan Medical Care Advisory Council and a past consultant to the Michigan Governor’s Task Force on Access to Health Care. He represented the state on the board of directors of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, where he headed a committee that developed and implemented a new system of hospital payment. His published work includes a book on Medicare and articles on health care reform, national health insurance, Medicaid, comprehensive health planning, neighborhood health centers, and racial discrimination in housing. Feingold received research grants and fellowships from the Brookings Institution, the Walter E. Meyer Research Institute of Law, the New World Foundation, the U.S. Public Health Service, the National Science Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Feingold received his doctorate in politics from Princeton University in 1960 and his J.D. from the U-M in 1992. No funeral service is planned. Contributions in Feingold’s name may be made to the American Civil Liberties Union Fund of Michigan. Contributions in Feingold’s name may be made to the American Civil Liberties Union Fund of Michigan and the S. J. Axelrod Scholarship Fund at the U-M School of Public Health