Miriam (Mim) Orleans, PhD, Professor Emerita of the University of Colorado School of Medicine, passed away on September 28, 2024, at the age of 97. Through her work as a researcher, educator, and mentor, Dr. Orleans dedicated her life to improving public health, with a particular focus on maternal and child health.
Dr. Orleans earned her Bachelor’s degree in 1947 at Rutgers University, her Master’s degree in Sociology at the University of Kentucky in 1948, and her Doctoral degree in Sociology/Philosophy of Science at the University of Wisconsin in 1954. She began her academic career in the Department of Sociology at Occidental College, and then moved to positions at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in the School of Nursing, Medical Sociology, and Pediatrics, eventually landing in the UCLA School of Public Health. In 1970 she left UCLA for a fellowship at St. Thomas’s Hospital Medical School in London, England, In 1972, she joined the University of Colorado School of Medicine’s Department of Preventive Medicine and Biometrics (which would eventually become the Colorado School of Public Health). Dr. Orleans led the Epidemiology and Community Health Section from 1989 until she retired from the Department in 1994.
Dr. Orleans was passionate about maternal and child health. As a medical sociologist, she conducted research on pre-term delivery, lactation, prenatal care, and management of high-risk pregnancies with colleagues at the School of Medicine and Kaiser-Permanente Colorado. Dr. Orleans was particularly interested in the safety of fetal monitoring technology; she was a founding member of the International Society for Technology Assessment in Health Care and served on its board. She had editorial responsibilities for Birth: Issues in Perinatal Care and Education and International Journal of Technology Assessment in Health Care. She served on several committees and boards in Colorado, including the Colorado Violence Prevention Advisory Committee and the Colorado Child Fatality Review Committee at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. With Albert Havercamp, M.D. and Dennis Lezotte PhD, Dr. Orleans developed the perinatal database for Kaiser Permanente in 1991.
While a fellow at St. Thomas’s Hospital Medical School in London in 1970-71, Dr. Orleans developed an abiding dedication to the idea that randomized controlled trials were essential to safe and effective medical care, which led to her involvement in the development of the Cochrane Collaboration, an enduring international network that produces systematic reviews to help doctors and patients make informed health decisions.
Dr. Orleans’ work continues to positively affect health care delivery and has inspired many former students, young faculty, and those serving in the medical and public health communities. However, her lasting legacy will be through those fortunate enough to have called her their mentor, colleague, and friend, who try to emulate her lessons. Said Judy Baxter, M.A., retired faculty member and colleague in the Department of Preventive Medicine and Biometrics, “Mim modeled the way, for everyone, though especially women, to be curious, critical thinkers, to ask tough questions, to study thoroughly in order to give well-articulated opinions, to listen, to collaborate, and to give fully from one’s heart and head. She believed in us and our ability to individually and collectively make a difference, and by her example inspired many to meet her expectation.”
Marilyn Leff, PhD, MSW, MSPH, a former student who continued her collaboration with Dr. Orleans during her career at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, wrote the following, “Mim was instrumental in my transition from medical social worker to epidemiologist, a most unlikely career path. We worked on several different child health projects together. Mim's work came from her value of wanting the world to be a better place for all peoples and a drive to find out what worked best in health care for all. She was not afraid to debunk and ask critical questions. She taught me that caring is important and that caring leads to the questions you ask and the necessary rigor in one's thinking and work. I will miss our ongoing conversations and demands to know the evidence. This is the legacy that she has left for me --- caring and rigor.”
Dennis Lezotte, PhD, Professor Emeritus and Founding Chair of the Department of Biostatistics and Informatics at the Colorado School of Public Health, said, “I was one of the fortunate faculty members who had the opportunity to collaborate with Mim in the classroom, on research projects, and national and community committees. She was my staunch advocate, my career-long mentor and dear friend.”
Dr. Orleans will be remembered for her infectious sense of humor, welcoming nature, and her ability to make anyone feel at ease. She loved a good conversation and was always ready to listen, discuss, and offer advice. Vibrant until the end, she loved playing the piano and was still taking lessons, as well as enjoying book club and social engagements with friends.
Dr. Orleans is survived by her husband of 52 years, Peter Orleans, with whom she shared a partnership built on mutual respect, adventures, and abiding love. They travelled extensively after retirement, settling for three years in their own apartment in Paris.
She is also survived by her son Jonathan Thacker Morris and his wife Elissa of Portland, Oregon; her daughter Alison Thacker Morris Vogt of Twisp, Washington; her stepdaughter Laura Orleans and her husband Charles York of New Bedford, Massachusetts; her sister Patty Bortman of Kensington, California; and nine grandchildren: Kai, Tierney, and Rhionne Morris; Posy, Reed, Lily, and Sage Vogt; and Emma and Isaac York. She was predeceased by her stepson, Marc Orleans.
Donations may be made in Dr. Orleans’ memory to the Miriam Orleans Graduate Research Assistance Fund at the Colorado School of Public Health or to Doctors Without Borders (MSF). Please make checks to The University of Colorado Foundation. In the memo line write “Miriam Orleans Fund #D-0039522”. Checks can be mailed to: The University of Colorado Foundation, PO Box 17126, Denver, CO 80217. If giving online, go to giving.cu.edu, under gift designation, select “other” from the drop down menu and enter: The Miriam Orleans Graduate Research Fund, Code- D-0039522. For more information, please contact Travis Leiker, assistant dean of external relations, at travis.leiker@cuanschutz.edu or call 303.817.5744.