Dr. Ted Chen, professor emeritus of social, behavioral, and population sciences at the Celia Scott Weatherhead School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine at Tulane University, passed away on April 1, 2025, in New York City. He was 88.
Chen was a beloved faculty member and global health pioneer whose career spanned continents and decades. He taught at Tulane for 24 years, bringing his passion for health education, tobacco control, and international collaboration to generations of students. His work helped forge deep and lasting ties between Tulane and institutions across Asia.
Originally from Taiwan, Chen’s academic journey brought him to the United States, where he taught at the University of Massachusetts Amherst before joining Tulane. At Tulane, he built enduring partnerships with National Taiwan University, Kaohsiung University, Asia University, China Medical University, and the Show Chwan Health System, among others. These collaborations included executive training programs, academic exchanges, and the launch of the popular summer course SBPS 6150: Taiwan Strategies to Community Health in 2008.
Chen’s mentorship extended far beyond the classroom. His former students and mentees have gone on to become public health leaders across Asia, including roles in the Taipei Health Department and as ministers of health.
A staunch advocate for tobacco control, Chen worked with the John Tung Foundation to help establish landmark anti-smoking policies in Taiwan and the broader Asia-Pacific region. His legacy also includes founding roles in two influential organizations: the Asian American and Pacific Islander Caucus of the American Public Health Association, and the Asia-Pacific Association for the Control of Tobacco, where he served as permanent executive secretary.
Chen retired from Tulane in 2015 but remained actively engaged in global health, continuing to support smoking cessation initiatives in China.
He is survived by his wife, Marian; his daughter, Connie, and son-in-law, Stephen Warren; his son, David, and daughter-in-law, Georgia Brian; and his granddaughters, Ava and Zoe.
A celebration of life will be held on May 3, 2025, at Frank E. Campbell – The Funeral Chapel in New York City. The service begins at 2 p.m., with a gathering at 1:30 p.m. and a reception to follow. The event will also be streamed online at memorialstream.online/dr-chen. RSVPs and shared memories may be sent to TedChenCelebration@gmail.com.
Dr. Chen’s obituary is available through the Times-Picayune: View Obituary.
Dr. Frances J. Mather, professor emerita of biostatistics
Dr. Mather passed away on June 17, 2025, in Metairie, La. She was 88. Over nearly five decades, she held many roles at Tulane, including student, professor, principal investigator, and administrator. She also served on advisory committees for the National Institutes of Health and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, contributing her expertise to research, special projects, and grants.
Mather was born in Alberta, Canada, and was one of the first women in the mining engineering program at the University of Alberta in Edmonton. After earning a Master of Science in mathematical statistics from the University of Michigan, she joined Tulane University in 1969 as an instructor while pursuing her PhD in biostatistics. She became an assistant professor in the Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology (as it was then known) in 1972 and earned her doctorate in 1975.
Mather was promoted to associate professor in 1981 and held that position until 2007. She also served as an adjunct associate professor in the Department of Surgery at the School of Medicine. She managed a diverse research program and worked in countries like The Gambia, Senegal, and Mali.
As computers and the internet became central to higher education, Mather’s background in programming and statistical research made her a natural leader for the school’s Academic Information Systems office, which she managed until her retirement in 2013. She lived in New Orleans for more than 50 years, embracing its unique lifestyle, the Gospel Tent at Jazz Fest, and the food, especially chargrilled oysters.
Dr. Walter Burnett, founding chair of the Department of Health Services & Hospital Administration
Dr. Walter Mucklow Burnett was a visionary leader, beloved teacher, and the founding chair of what is now the Department of Health Policy and Management. He passed away on June 8, 2025, following a cancer diagnosis the previous month. His legacy endures through generations of alumni, colleagues, and the transformative program he helped build from the ground up.
Dr. Burnett arrived at Tulane in 1968, recruited to launch a pioneering program in health services administration made possible by a W.K. Kellogg Foundation grant. Dr. Burnett envisioned something bold: a program that would integrate the principles of business and management with the mission of public health. By the fall of 1969, Tulane welcomed its first MPH class in Health Services & Hospital Administration—a program shaped by his innovative ideas and collaborative leadership.
Rather than follow traditional models that focused solely on hospital operations, Dr. Burnett championed an interdisciplinary approach. He forged a groundbreaking partnership with Tulane’s School of Business, inviting faculty to teach finance, marketing, and accounting to future public health leaders. That decision not only differentiated Tulane’s program from others across the country but also laid the foundation for what would become one of the most respected and enduring health administration programs in the U.S.
His influence extended well beyond Tulane. From 1975 to 1976, he served as chair of the Association of University Programs in Health Administration (AUPHA), where he helped shape national standards for health administration education.
Born in Schenectady, NY, in 1937, Dr. Burnett graduated with honors in history from Wesleyan University in 1959 and earned his PhD from the University of Iowa in 1965 in an interdisciplinary program blending history, sociology, political science, and medical care administration. He was a global traveler and a devoted family man. Through his graduate education, all of his Tulane faculty career, and his travel and civic adventures, he was supported by his beloved wife of 49 year, Harriet Falls Burnett, who passed away in 2008.
Dr. Dorothy Clemmer, Professor Emerita of Epidemiology
Dr. Dorothy Iker Clemmer passed away on August 3, 2025, in Milwaukee, WI, from complications of a fall. She was 96 years old. She earned her PhD in microbiology from Tulane’s School of Medicine in 1958, and joined what was then the Department of Public Health and Tropical Medicine as an epidemiology professor, where she remained for more than 30 years.
Dottie, as she was known, was born in Rogers Park, Chicago, Ill. She was married to fellow faculty John Franklin Clemmer, former chair of the Art Department. Both Clemmers were enthusiastic race walkers and participated in meets in the New Orleans area and beyond as competitors and race officials. Following her retirement in 1989, she consulted as an injury epidemiologist for the petrochemical industry to improve worker safety on oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico.
