Selma Dritz papers, 1965-2008

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Summary

Creators:
Dritz, Deborah and Dritz, Selma K., 1917-
Abstract:
Selma K. Dritz, MD, MPH, served as Assistant Director of the Bureau of Communicable Disease Control and Chief of the Division of Occupational Health of the San Francisco Department of Public Health from 1967-1984. She played a seminal role in the early years of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the San Francisco Bay Area. Collection includes material predominantly related to HIV/AIDS, including correspondence, research and educational materials, publications and clippings, and conference and lecture materials.
Extent:
2.5 Linear Feet (2 cartons)
Language:
English and Collection materials are in English.
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Selma Dritz papers, MSS 2009-04. Archives and Special Collections, University of California, San Francisco.

Background

Scope and content:

The collection predominantly relates to Dritz's work with HIV/AIDS, Kaposi sarcoma (KS), Pneumocystis pneumonia, and sexually transmitted diseases in the San Francisco Bay Area. It includes material regarding research, education, prevention, and public health policy, including correspondence, statistical data, clinical care and case study guidelines, publications and clippings, and conference and lecture materials. Some photographs and slides are included. The bulk of the material is dated 1980-2000.

Biographical / historical:

Selma K. Dritz (1917-2008), MD, MPH, played a seminal role in the early years of the AIDS epidemic in San Francisco. As Assistant Director of the Bureau of Communicable Disease Control and Chief of the Division of Occupational Health of the San Francisco Department of Public Health, she tracked cases of HIV/AIDS and collaborated with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) to help establish the etiology and epidemiology of the disease. She worked to educate gay and straight people about AIDS recognition and prevention.

Dritz was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1917. She attended the University of Illinois (BS in Medicine, 1939; MD, 1941) and the University of California, Berkeley (MPH, 1967). Dritz began her career in pediatrics but later shifted to public health, joining the San Francisco Department of Public Health in 1967. From 1967-1984 she served as Assistant Director of the Bureau of Communicable Disease Control and Chief of the Division of Occupational Health of the San Francisco Department of Public Health. She became an expert in sexually transmitted diseases and HIV/AIDS and helped lead the department's efforts in related prevention, policy, and research. She authored numerous publications and was a member of several professional organizations, including the American Medical Association, the American Public Health Association, the California Medical Association, and the San Francisco Medical Society. She served on the California State Task Force on AIDS and worked as a consultant to the University of California, San Francisco Medical School. She died in 2008.

Acquisition information:
The papers were given by Selma Dritz to the San Francisco AIDS Foundation. San Francisco AIDS Foundation gave the material to UCSF Archives and Special Collections. Collection was donated to UCSF by Deborah Dritz in 2009.
Processing information:

Processed by Kelsi Evans in 2017.

Arrangement:

Collection is arranged by subject-headed folders. Original folder arrangement and titles have been maintained with minimal intervention by the archivist.

Accruals:

No future additions are expected.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research. The UCSF Archives and Special Collections policy places access restrictions on material with privacy issues for a specific time period from the date of creation. Restrictions are noted at the folder level. This collection will be reviewed for sensitive content upon request. Contact the UCSF Archivist for information on access to restricted material.

Terms of access:

Copyright has not been assigned to the Library and Center for Knowledge Management. All requests for permission to publish or quote from material must be submitted in writing to the UCSF Archivist. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Library and Center for Knowledge Management as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the researcher.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Selma Dritz papers, MSS 2009-04. Archives and Special Collections, University of California, San Francisco.

Location of this collection:
UCSF Library & CKM Archives and Special Collections, 530 Parnassus Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94143-0840, US