Dr. Curtis Patton honored in double portrait 

Two illustrious Yale professors and friends are the subject of a double portrait honoring their careers. The painting of Dr. Curtis Patton, PhD, professor emeritus of epidemiology (microbial diseases), and Dr. James Comer, MD, MPH, Maurice Falk Professor in the Child Study Center, was unveiled December 11 in the Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library.

Patton, who retired in 2006 after 36 years at Yale, is celebrated in the portrait not only for his distinguished career in public health, but also for his continued advocacy and mentorship of Black students and faculty.

“This portrait will help tell a history that is extraordinarily important in creating an inclusive environment for everyone and uplift people who maybe had not been seen before,” said Dr. Darin Latimore, MD, deputy dean for collaborative excellence and co-chair of the Program for Art in Public Spaces at Yale School of Medicine (YSM), which commissioned the painting.

Patton’s extensive career achievements include serving as division head of epidemiology of microbial diseases, acting head of global health, director of international medical studies, and chair of the committee on international health. Patton was also an active researcher, studying trypanosomes and African sleeping sickness, work which is highlighted in the portrait with an image of a globe.

Outside of the laboratory and classroom, Patton pushed for a more inclusive environment at Yale. When he arrived at Yale School of Medicine as an assistant professor in 1970, he and Comer were among only a few Black faculty members at Yale. There were also few Black students: in the 1970s only about 2.5% of medical students in the U.S. were Black and YSM admitted a few Black students each year.

Patton and Comer were determined to open the door to more Black students and faculty. They mentored Black students and made themselves available to serve on key admissions and recruitment committees, Latimore said. “They helped ensure that highly qualified minority students and faculty had a real opportunity to come to Yale and thrive at Yale,” said Latimore.

Patton received the Edward A. Bouchet Leadership Award in 2004 for his mentorship.

Dr. Melinda Pettigrew, PhD ’99, University of Minnesota School of Public Health dean, and former interim dean and Anna M. R. Lauder Professor of Epidemiology at YSPH, knows firsthand the power of Patton’s mentorship. “He was the reason I came back to Yale on the faculty,” she recalled.

The two met while Pettigrew was a PhD student at Yale, and Patton became her informal mentor. In 2001, he encouraged Pettigrew to apply for a faculty position at Yale, which she did. But then Pettigrew decided to withdraw her application.

Worried about disappointing Patton, Pettigrew decided to call him and explain her decision. “He answered and listened patiently for 20 minutes while I rambled on about all my reasons,” she said. “At the end of the call, he said, ‘Dr. Pettigrew, if you don't like Yale, you can fix it when you get here. I’m not telling the search committee we had this conversation.’ And then he hung up the phone on me,” she said with a laugh.

Pettigrew did not withdraw her application. She got the job. “Dr. Patton gives you that push, especially for people who don't see themselves in those roles,” she said. “He is an outstanding mentor.”

When serving on leadership and development panels at Yale, Pettigrew heard that Patton had similarly encouraged others to apply for jobs and leadership positions. “I was struck by how many times I was on a panel, and people would start with, ‘and then I met Dr. Patton,’” Pettigrew said.

In addition to welcoming Black students and faculty, Patton pushed for Yale to acknowledge previously unrecognized Black students at Yale, including Dr. Edward A. Bouchet, Yale College’s first African-American graduate, who in 1876 became the first African American to earn a PhD in the United States, and Dr. Cortlandt Van Rensselaer Creed, MD, the first African-American graduate of Yale University. Patton was awarded a Seton Elm-Ivy Award for this work in 2019.

In the early 1970s, Comer invited Patton and YSM’s students of color to his home for an informal dinner, hoping students would be able to meet and connect with each other and faculty.

The dinner became an annual event, which today has evolved into the Minority Organization for Retention and Expansion’s James P. Comer and Curtis L. Patton Welcome Reception. Though no longer hosted at Patton’s or Comer’s home, the reception is still important an important site of community building for people of color, including faculty, students, staff, and leadership from YSM, YSPH, and the Yale New Haven Health System, and others, drawing over 100 attendees each September.

Because the reception is emblematic of Patton and Comer’s legacy, it’s in the painting. “I wanted to have the picnic in the background because it’s something that they implemented and is theirs as a united thing,” said portrait painter Mario Moore, MFA ‘13.

Retirement hasn’t stopped Patton’s mentorship, nor his ability to bring people together for big gatherings. At Patton’s 90th birthday party over the summer, Pettigrew estimated that over 100 people showed up to celebrate. “There were people who had done postdocs with him. There were faculty he’d worked with in the ‘80s, ‘90s. It’s a very long, rich history and tradition,” she said. “He just touched numerous lives, and he continues to bring people together.”

Photos courtesy of Yale School of Medicine