Susan P. Baker Collection

Biography

Susan Baker received a B.A. from Cornell University in 1951 and a M.P.H. from the Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health in 1968. Starting as a research associate in the School of Hygiene and Public Health, Baker rose steadily through the academic ranks, becoming Assistant Professor of Public Health Administration in 1971 and Associate Professor of Health Science Administration with a joint appointment in environmental health services in 1975. She was promoted to Professor of Health Policy and Management in 1983. Baker’s influential studies on the epidemiology of injury led to a major health policy focus on the prevention of injury. Her studies include the evalauation of motor vehicle crashes, occupational injuries, drownings, burns, poisoning, back injuries, firearm injuries and aviation safety. Baker has served on many boards and committees including the Armed Forces Epidemiological Board, the National Academy of Science Committee on Trauma Research and as president of the Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine. Recipient of numerous awards and commendations, Baker was awarded the Frank A. Calderone Prize in Public Health from Columbia University in 2010.

Scope and Content

The Susan P. Baker Collection consists of Baker’s teaching and course files, correspondence, committee files, research materials, awards, and publication files relating to her work as a faculty member at the Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health with joint appointments in the Departments of Health Policy and Management and Environmental Health Sciences. The collection documents Baker’s pioneering and leadership role over several decades in the field of injury control. It includes records pertaining to the development of a comprehensive injury prevention program at the School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University, including the Center for Injury Research and Policy. These papers document the key persons, issues, and organizations involved in early efforts to advance awareness of injury prevention and effect policy change. There is an extensive set of grey literature as well as correspondence, meeting minutes, manuscripts, and news clippings from Baker’s research on the epidemiology of injury and her participation on advisory panels, committees, and her consultancies. These materials cover nearly every conceivable kind of accidental injury and death and are particularly strong in the areas of airplane safety, motor vehicle safety, military safety, and consumer product safety issues. The collection documents some of Baker’s significant research projects. There are files pertaining to the Injury Severity Score and The Injury Fact Book, among others. There are also many news clippings about Baker and a set of her reprints.

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