Curtis L. Patton, Ph.D.

Curtis L. Patton, Ph.D., professor emeritus in the School of Public Health, was one of 13 people to receive a Seton Elm/Ivy Award this spring. Patton was honored for bringing previously unrecognized African-Americans to public light. Yale’s recognition of Edward A. Bouchet, a distinguished New Havener, Yale College’s first African-American graduate and the first African-American to earn a Ph.D. anywhere in the nation, is due in part to Patton. He also celebrated the work and legacy of Cortlandt Van Rensselaer Creed, M.D., another distinguished New Havener and the first African-American graduate of Yale University. In 2007, on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of Creed’s graduation from the School of Medicine, Patton and his colleagues organized a series of events culminating in the dedication of a new memorial to Creed at the Grove Street Cemetery.