David Goldberg
David Goldberg, a distinguished professor of the University, died of cancer June 13 at his home in Ann Arbor.
Goldberg, the son of Russian immigrants, spent some of his undergraduate years in Ann Arbor studying history, but earned his bachelor’s degree from Wayne State University. He came to the U-M in 1952 to begin graduate studies in sociology, demography and statistics. He was affiliated with the University for the rest of his life.
Goldberg became an instructor in the Department of Sociology in 1956 and advanced to professor in 1968. He directed the Population Studies Center in 1972–76 and the Detroit Area Study (DAS) in 1977–81. He also served as vice president of the Population Association of America.
For much of his early career, Goldberg analyzed the determinants of fertility using information from the first DAS studies and from the pioneering Indianapolis fertility survey. In the 1960s, he initiated his own large-scale fertility surveys in Turkey and Mexico, long before birth rates in those countries started to decline.
Two of his papers are models of the demographer’s ken. His 1962 paper in Population Studies about two-generation urbanites carefully measured the effects of a rural background on the childbearing of urban women in the early baby boom years. His 1975 paper with Bernard Agranoff concerning the geographic distribution of multiple sclerosis provides an important and unchallenged explanation for geographic variations in this disease. This is widely regarded as a masterpiece of ecological research.
Goldberg also was a dedicated and serious educator. He was particularly proud of his ability to teach introductory statistics, especially to students who were reluctant to recognize the value of the quantitative approach in social science. Perhaps no other instructor spent as much time as Goldberg did in developing and administering imaginative tests for his statistics students. He also was very proud of his ability to help dedicated graduate students complete their dissertations. In the course of his 31 years as a faculty member in the Department of Sociology, Goldberg chaired 28 dissertation committees. Those students can be found at leading universities occupying such roles as professor, director and university president.
After a rich and productive career as a scholar, teacher and colleague, Goldberg retired in 1997. His wife, Jeanette, died that same year. His younger daughter, Debra, lives in Ann Arbor, while his older daughter, Susan, lives in San Jose.
Submitted by the Department of Sociology
Raymond W. Waggoner
Raymond W. Waggoner, a noted U-M psychiatrist, medical administrator and government adviser who was one of the first to see mental illness as both an emotional and physical problem, died of natural causes at Heartland Health Care Center in Ann Arbor June 27. He was 98.
Throughout his career, Waggoner worked to modernize treatment of the mentally ill, and to bridge the gap between the Freudian psychosocial model and the discipline of neuroscience, which aims to find biological explanations for psychiatric disorders.
Born Aug. 2, 1901, in the tiny town of Carson City, Mich., Waggoner received his undergraduate and medical degrees from the U-M by the age of 22. He then attended the University of Pennsylvania, where he earned his doctorate in neuropsychiatry in 1928.
Returning to Ann Arbor in 1929 as a U-M neurologist, he married Marion Donnelly in 1930 and had two children, Raymond Jr. and Karen. Eight years into his 65-year U-M career, he switched to the Department of Psychiatry and soon began a 33-year term as department chair. In those years, 1937 to 1970, he built a nationally renowned clinical and research faculty noted for integrating psychotherapy and neuroscience.
“He was ahead of his time, seeing a convergence of these two approaches rather than a dichotomy,” said John Greden, current chair of the Department of Psychiatry. “He was a physician first, and a psychiatrist second, thinking of the patient in terms of the total person. That biopsychosocial model, which he helped pioneer, now forms the basis of our entire medical specialty.”
Waggoner lent his expertise to his country, state and county many times, shaping mental health policy for public patients, soldiers, veterans and postwar occupied nations.
In 1937, he urged the state of Michigan to rewrite its laws concerning the mentally ill, to reflect the medical advances being made in treatment. This resulted in Public Act 85 and the founding of the Neuropsychiatric Institute, a psychiatric hospital attached to the U-M hospital, replacing the State Psychopathic Hospital.
From 1943 to 1948, he was a key adviser to the Selective Service in psychiatric evaluations during and after the World War II draft, helping to standardize the criteria used to screen potential soldiers. He served the U.S. Surgeon General in 1948 and the State Department in 1949 as counselor on the psychological effects of the war’s aftermath and the Allied occupation in Germany and Japan. He continued as a consultant to the Surgeon General in 1955–74.
Returning to Michigan, he advised Gov. Harry F. Kelly on psychiatric care for returning veterans and founded both the Veterans Readjustment Center and an innovative inpatient program at the Neuropsychiatry Institute that allowed family and community interaction. Later, he was instrumental in founding the Washtenaw Community Mental Health Center, one of the first initiatives at a county level for patients receiving psychiatric treatment outside state institutions.
Under his direction, the Department of Psychiatry grew from a small clinical and teaching unit in the 1930s to a major force in psychiatry research, care and education. He built a faculty noted for its eclectic mix of disciplines, and for its emphasis on integrating medical and psychiatric care. In addition to the Neuropsychiatric Institute and the Veterans Readjustment Center, he also fostered the development of a child and adolescent psychiatry hospital and the basic science-oriented Mental Health Research Institute. He retired in 1970, but continued an active practice until the 1990s.
“Ray was a strong leader and brilliant administrator, caring about and helping to encourage the careers of residents, staff and colleagues,” said Philip Margolis, professor emeritus of psychiatry and Waggoner’s longtime friend and colleague. “I’ll remember him as an optimist, always feeling that with the right tools we could accomplish what others considered impossible.”
Elected president of both the American College of Psychiatrists (1966–67) and the American Psychiatric Association (1969–70), Waggoner received many honors, including the American Psychiatric Association’s E.B. Bowis Award in 1968 and its Distinguished Service Award in 1988.
Among his many other activities, Waggoner consulted for the Peace Corps during its early days, and advised the Social Security Administration, the American Bar Association, the Department of Defense and the Masters and Johnson Institute.
Waggoner was preceded in death by his wife in 1995, and by his parents, Anna and Charles, and his five brothers: Floyd, Glen, Jay, Dr. Stanley and Dr. Lyle Waggoner. He is survived by his son and daughter-in-law, Dr. Raymond and Nancy Waggoner of Delaware, Ohio, and his daughter, Karen Kitchen of Ann Arbor, who works for the Center for Information Technology Integration.
Also surviving are four grandchildren: Kati Bauer of Chelsea, who is the executive assistant to the university chief information officer, and her husband, Jim; Jerry Kitchen of Ann Arbor and his wife, Jane; Kimberly Waggoner of Providence, R.I., and David Waggoner of Jackson Hole, Wyo.; and four great-grandchildren, Jamie and Chris Bauer of Chelsea and Cami and Caleb Kitchen of Ann Arbor.
Waggoner also had a strong interest in ethics and values, which he saw as combining the human and the humane. Since 1995, the U-M has held an annual lecture on the topic in his name. His family has asked that in lieu of flowers, contributions in his memory be made to the Raymond W. Waggoner Lectureship on Ethics and Values in Medicine, c/o Philip Margolis, Waggoner Lectureship Committee Chair, Department of Psychiatry, 900 Wall St., Ann Arbor, MI 48105.
From Health System Public Relations
Pauline S. Pociask
Pauline Pociask, 84, passed away June 28 at her home in Munster, Ind., after a lengthy illness. She was preceded in death by her mother, Karoline; father, Chester; sisters, Ann and Mary; and brother, Edward Sr. She is survived by numerous nieces and nephews, and many great-nieces and great-nephews. Special nephew Bill was her caregiver for the last 13 years and her “best buddy.”
Pauline worked for the University as an accountant from 1939 until her retirement in 1982. She moved back to Indiana in 1985.
“Polly,” as she was known by many, was an avid bowler, bridge player and cribbage player who loved to entertain friends with dinner parties at her home. She was dearly loved by everyone and will be greatly missed.
Funeral services were held July 1 in Hammond, Ind. Donations in her memory may be made to the Arthritis Foundation or to any charity of choice.
Submitted by the family
