Emory University Rollins School of Public Health’s Department of Environmental Health will be named the Gangarosa Department of Environmental Health after Eugene J. Gangarosa, a leader in safe water and sanitation and founder of the Center for Global Safe Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (CGSW) within Rollins.

The CGSW addresses critical public health problems attributed to lack of safe water, access to sanitation and adequate personal hygiene in the developing world.

For Gangarosa, the toll of waterborne disease is personal. His mother lost four of her first five children to aquatic illnesses in her native Sicily. That was where Gangarosa’s career and passion for safe water and sanitation began.

He has taught a graduate course on food and waterborne diseases at Emory every year since 1982 and was instrumental in transforming the program into what is now the Rollins School of Public Health (RSPH). Gangarosa also has a storied career at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American University of Beirut.

“I don’t think there is a person who does a better job of leading by example than Eugene Gangarosa,” says James W. Curran, MD, MPH, dean of the RSPH. “His tireless quest for knowledge and passion for tackling the world’s problems have served as an inspiration for generations of students and researchers. We hope that in naming the department for the Gangarosas, future generations will be inspired by their leadership and generosity.”

Following the Hubert Department of Global Health, this is the second department within Emory University to be named. Rollins will celebrate the official naming announcement with a toast on Wednesday, Feb. 12 at 11 a.m. on the second floor of the Claudia Nance Rollins Building.