​It is with great sadness that I announce the passing of our beloved founder Dr. William (Bill) Carter Jenkins.  He passed in the company of family and friends on February 17, 2019. This is an incredible loss for the Society for the Analysis of African American Public Health Issues (SAAPHI), Morehouse College, UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health as well as the fields of public health and epidemiology in general. For nearly five decades, Dr. William “Bill” Jenkins has devoted himself to eliminating racial/ethnic health disparities and expanding opportunities for racial/ethnic minorities to enter and succeed in careers in biostatistics and epidemiology.

As an unabashed voice for the elimination of disparities, Dr. Jenkins unapologetically, challenged rhetoric and practice that would perpetuate the misnomer that race (rather than racism) is the cause for the unjust and inequitable prevalence of disparate health outcomes forced upon racial/ethnic minorities. In addition, Dr. Jenkins was a caring mentor with a heart for the mentorship of students, student leaders and early career researchers and professionals.

Without his founding vision and direction in partnership with our founding members, SAAPHI would not exist.  A compassionate leader, Dr. Jenkins has inspired many of us to continue this work even when we felt challenged.  He has encouraged us, in the face of opposition, to innovate and find new ways to reach our goal of eradicating unjust, unfair, and inequitable health disparities. He has challenged us to question everything and taught us not to ascribe to the idea that we are limited by what we are told or what we see.  It is because of his leadership and vision that SAAPHI continues to persist.