For more information contact: Boonshoft School of Medicine, Judi Engle, Office of Public Relations, (937) 775-2951

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 27, 2004

Harvey A. Siegal, Ph.D., has died

Dayton, Ohio--Harvey A. Siegal, Ph.D., passed away Wednesday, December 22, 2004, at Kettering Memorial Hospital after a long battle with cancer.

Harvey Siegal, Ph.D.

Dr. Siegal was a professor in the Department of Community Health at the Wright State University School of Medicine and Director of the Center for Interventions, Treatment and Addictions Research. He completed his bachelor's and master's degrees at the City College of New York and earned his Ph.D. in medical sociology at Yale University in 1974.

Dr. Siegal joined Wright State University's faculty in 1975. A skilled teacher, highly regarded researcher, and community leader, Dr. Siegal earned the Wright State University Board of Trustees' Award for Faculty Excellence. He also received Wright State's Presidential Award for Faculty Excellence in Professional Service. Dr. Siegal was well known for his work on local boards and committees and for developing the Weekend Intervention Program for people convicted of a legal offense involving the abuse of alcohol and/or other drugs while driving. The program became a prototype for others in Ohio and across the country. It was at the centerpiece of Dr. Siegal's subsequent efforts to underscore the effectiveness of early intervention and education on substance abuse. It also lead to programs for monitoring drug-use trends and others focused on health-care and treatment needs. His research efforts the past 30 years have also included HIV prevention and risk reduction, crack cocaine and health-services use, and strengths-based case management to improve treatment. As a nationally recognized leader in substance-abuse research, Dr. Siegal had a distinguished record for garnering external research funding for Wright State University's School of Medicine. He was principal investigator on many major grants from the National Institute of Health, served at several posts of national prominence including membership on the Drug Abuse Epidemiology and Prevention Research Review Committee at the NIH's National Institute on Drug Abuse. He was widely published.

Dr. Siegal is survived by his wife of 26 years, Mary Beth Pringle; a son, Micah Mathias Pringle Siegal (Athens, Ohio); a stepson, Zachary Drake Spraggins and wife Maria (Nashville); three brothers, Barry Siegal and wife Claudia (Greensboro, North Carolina), Lester and life partner Sara Piona Phillips (New York), Joel Siegal and wife Revital (San Francisco); nieces, Amanda and Catherine Siegal of Greensboro, and Maya Siegal of San Francisco; as well as a host of devoted and loving colleagues and friends. Services honoring Dr. Siegal were held Sunday, December 26, 11:30 A.M. at Temple Beth Or, 5275 Marshall Road. Interment followed at David's Cemetery.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Dr. Harvey A. Siegal Memorial Fund c/o Wright State University Foundation, Office of Development, 3640 Colonel Glenn Hwy., Dayton, OH 45435. 1-(800)-535-0688.

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