Stephen Carl Joseph (born November 25, 1937) was the New York City Health Commissioner from 1986 until 1990 after having worked at the

United Nations Children's Fund UNICEF ( ), originally the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, officially United Nations Children's Fund since 1953, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing humanitarian and developmental aid to childre ...

(UNICEF) as Special Coordinator for Child Health and Survival. He went on to become dean of the School of Public Health at the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

and

Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs The Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs (ASD(HA)) is chartered under United States Department of Defense Directive (DoDD) 5136.1 in 1994. This DoDD states that the ASD(HA) is the principal advisor to the U.S. Secretary of Defense o ...

Biography

Joseph was born on November 25, 1937, in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. He attended Fieldston School, graduating with his high school diploma in June 1955. He studied at

Tufts College Tufts University is a Private university, private research university in Medford, Massachusetts, Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts, United States, with additional facilities in Boston and Grafton, Massachusetts, Grafton, as well as Talloire ...

for one year before transferring to

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate education, undergraduate college of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Part of the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Scienc ...

. Joseph earned a bachelor's degree ''cum laude'' from Harvard in 1959, a medical degree ''cum laude'' from the

Yale School of Medicine The Yale School of Medicine is the medical school of Yale University, a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was founded in 1810 as the Medical Institution of Yale College and formally opened in 1813. It is the sixth-oldest m ...

in 1963 and a master of public health degree from

Johns Hopkins University The Johns Hopkins University (often abbreviated as Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1876 based on the European research institution model, J ...

in 1968. He completed his resident internship in pediatrics at the Boston Children's Medical Center. As New York City Health Commissioner, Joseph was credited with aggressively fighting the

AIDS epidemic The global pandemic of HIV/AIDS (human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) began in 1981, and is an ongoing worldwide public health issue. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), by 2023, HIV/AIDS ...

there. Joseph married Elizabeth Ann Preble. He has two daughters.

Publications

*''Dragon Within the Gates: The Once and Future AIDS Epidemic'' *''Summer of Fifty-Seven: Coming of Age in Wyoming’s Shining Mountains'' *''River of Stone, River of Sand: A Story of Medicine and Adventure''

References

External links

Widespread Smoking Restrictions Start in NYC
1937 births Living people Ethical Culture Fieldston School alumni Tufts University alumni Harvard College alumni Yale School of Medicine alumni American pediatricians Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health alumni UNICEF people Commissioners of health of the City of New York Writers from Brooklyn University of Minnesota faculty Clinton administration personnel United States assistant secretaries of defense {{US-med-bio-stub