ABSTRACT

I am not a Takemi Fellow and I am not on the Harvard faculty. So I did wonder why I had been invited to this remarkable celebration-until the magic word “publication” was mentioned. There is no free lunchor anniversary symposium-for a medical editor. In truth, of course, I have been a privileged spectator here, and I have learned a great deal about your work and the tremendous achievements of this program. I am also here (and I hope this is true) because of two friends-Keizo Takemi and Michael Reich. Their leadership of the Takemi Program, and indeed their leadership in the scholarly discipline of public health and in politics as an expression of a public commitment to public health, is exceptional. I am honored to be able to stand shoulder to shoulder with both men, and I pay tribute to their leadership.