Dear Public Health and Social Welfare Community:
It is with great sadness that the UC Berkeley School of Public Health and School of Social Welfare announce the passing of Dr. Lonnie Snowden, Emeritus Professor of Health Policy and Management.
The Berkeley community will fondly remember Dr. Snowden for his groundbreaking contributions to the field of mental health, commitment to eliminating health disparities, and extraordinary mentorship.
“It is impossible to grasp how someone so visionary, vital, and caring as Lonnie Snowden has passed away, leaving an enormous void too wide to fill,” said Susan Stone, Interim Dean, Berkeley Social Welfare, a colleague and friend of Dr. Snowden for almost 25 years.
Dr. Snowden's long-standing association with UC Berkeley included roles within both the School of Social Welfare and the School of Public Health. He served as a faculty member at Berkeley Social Welfare from 1978 to 2008, rising from Assistant Professor to Professor. From 1999 to 2008, he served as Affiliated Professor at the School of Public Health’s Health Services and Policy Analysis department. Beginning in 2008, Dr. Snowden joined the School of Public Health as Professor, Health Policy and Management Division, and transitioned to Professor of the Graduate School in 2012. Until his sudden passing, he continued to be an extremely active researcher, receiving a research grant in 2024 from the National Institute of Mental Health to study mental health care and treatment disparities among Black and white Americans covered by the Affordable Care Act.
Dr. Snowden served as an advisor on the National Institute of Health’s Strategic Plan on Reducing Health Disparities and contributed to the first-ever Surgeon General’s Report on Mental Health. He received The Berkeley Citation for “Distinguished Achievements and Notable Service to the University” in 2012 and the Surgeon General’s Exemplary Service Award.
Dr. Snowden often provided policy briefings, informing the California legislature on best practices regarding health care services for vulnerable communities.
“Lonnie embodied the best of what our community is all about. To his last day, he fought for health equity and social justice for all, especially the most vulnerable,” said Michael C. Lu, Dean, School of Public Health.
Dr. Snowden's early and presciently edited book, Reaching the Underserved: Mental Health Needs of Neglected Populations, published in 1982, drew attention to our collective responsibility for an array of population groups who were denied access to quality mental health services. This became a blueprint for his path-breaking career as a pioneer in the systematic study of both health and mental health services delivery and related policies and practices, with the goal of ensuring equity in treatment.
“I was lucky to have a cherished front row seat to Lonnie's inquiring mind and wise counsel, beginning in his first days at Berkeley,” said Rhona Weinstein, UC Berkeley Professor of Psychology, Emerita. “As members of underrepresented groups in academe ourselves, we, along with Ricardo Muñoz from UCSF, met on a regular basis for years, sharing our research and mentoring each other through the ranks of the professoriate. These opportunities to learn from Lonnie Snowden were priceless and exemplify the intellectual and personal joy that a university like Berkeley offered in the faculty it hired. I shall miss him dearly.“
Sincerely,
Michael C. Lu, Dean, UC Berkeley School of Public Health
Susan I. Stone, Interim Dean, UC Berkeley School of Social Welfare
Remembrances from the Berkeley Social Welfare Community
“When I think of Lonnie, I think of a phrase used to describe Aaron Copland, the famous American composer who had generously mentored hundreds of musicians: ‘He made it to the top of his field, and then sent the elevator down.’ Knowing Lonnie's passion for music, I think he would have liked the comparison. It certainly fits for those of us lucky to have been inspired by him.”
- Edward Cohen (MSW ’83, PhD ’00)
“I was saddened to learn of Lonnie’s passing and I know my colleagues will join me in sending deepest sympathies to Alice and their family and friends on this loss. Lonnie made a huge contribution to the School of Social Welfare and it was an honor to support his work during my term as dean. He was an excellent and much-loved teacher and outstanding researcher and, in particular, I valued the way he represented the School so positively through his many professional activities. His work with both federal and state agencies on enhancing mental health services for minorities brought much credit to the School. On a personal level, he was a kind, friendly and helpful colleague. He embodied the image of the nice guy because he was a very nice guy. We will all mourn his passing.”
- Jim Midgley, Dean Emeritus and Professor of the Graduate School
“[Professor Lonnie Snowden’s] contributions to the field of Social Welfare and his dedication to advancing equity in mental health care have left a lasting impact. My heartfelt condolences to his family, friends, colleagues, and students during this difficult time. May his legacy continue to inspire.”
- Nathalie Hughes Erskine (MSW ’97, MPH ’99)
“Lonnie was an important mentor to me, who shaped the trajectory of my career. I have so many beautiful memories of this spry professor who ran around in track shoes, bringing grace, inquisitiveness, and joy to the goal of helping humanity. We will never know exactly how many lives were positively touched by Lonnie’s research and advocacy, but I’m sure they would fill stadiums.”
- Laura A. Schmidt (MSW ’85, MPH ’86)
“I have fond memories of conversations with, and both inspiration and encouragement from, him during my doctoral studies in the early 1990s.”
- Christine Flynn Saulnier (PhD ‘94)
“The world has lost another great guy. I was not a student of Lonnie's but he was always available for mentoring, advice and that great type of support that often happens in the halls and stairwells. He WILL be missed.”
- Jim McCabe (DSW '84)
“I was in the Mental Health track and used [Dr. Snowden’s] data for my master's thesis. He helped me understand data and how data can be analyzed to provide insight into practices. I became a strong advocate for collecting data to understand the impact of programs on the people being served. I appreciated his mentorship.”
- Danna Fabella (MSW ’80)