Willie Sutton, the No. 11 bus, shoe leather epidemiology, and honest brokers

I cut my teeth on smallpox eradication in Ethiopia in 1973-75 and then for WHO in North Yemen in 1978-79, and my immunization career at WHO and JSI exactly spanned the creation of the Expanded Program on Immunization until my retirement at the end of 2018.

Stan was there throughout as a font of sage advice for me and others. In the early days in the 1980s, I used to eagerly await the WHO pouch to deliver his monthly CDC immunization newsletter summarizing immunization lessons from the field.

Stan usually had a great turn of phrase at the ready to insert into conversations. To explain the organizational behavior of partners, Stan might say: “When asked why he robbed banks, Willie Sutton replied: ‘That’s where the money is.’” To encourage staff to get out from behind their desks (and later their computer screens) to learn in the field, he’d distinguish between the shiny-pants and shoe-leather varieties of epidemiologists. When resources such as transport were in short supply, he’d propose taking the “No. 11 bus” (i.e., walking with your own two legs). And I often recalled his worthwhile recommendation during a review of the overall WHO/AFR immunization program in the late 1990’s that AFRO needed to be an “honest broker” in support of country needs. It became a precept, a guiding principle, for me beyond WHO.

Stan had a great technical understanding of the field and a powerful inner direction which guided him. He was always generous with his time to exchange viewpoints. While at CDC and Emory, he mentored so many public health officials and students who will carry on his work. Stan remains a legend throughout the world and will be sorely missed.

Robert Steinglass
Former Director, JSI Immunization Center, Arlington Va.
Retired in Mars Hill, North Carolina