Dr. Taryn Vian, associate professor of international health, said she could tell William Bicknell was an unusual leader from the time she first interviewed for a faculty position at Boston University. The position would be in managing disasters, and Vian was worried her inexperience would make her a less desirable candidate.
“It seemed to make Bill inordinately happy,” Vian said. “Bill loved to put people into new situations, trusting that they would grow into the job and bring fresh insights. It didn’t always work, of course.”
Bicknell was the founder and chair emeritus of the BU School of Public Health department of international health and professor of international health and family medicine and director of international health programs in the department of family medicine.
The professor died Tuesday night at his home in Marshfield after a long battle with cancer. He was 75.
Bicknell was a member of the BU Medical School Admissions Committee, served on the Boston Medical Center Institutional Review Board and directed the Lesotho Boston Health Alliance. He had extensive program development, health sector analysis, management, financial analysis and program evaluation experience.
Throughout his career, Bicknell traveled to 76 countries and worked in 62.
Associate Chair of International Health Frank Feeley said Bicknell was “extraordinary.”
“He was a figure both domestically and internationally, he was controversial throughout his career, outspoken and always interesting in every sense of the word,” Feeley said.
Bicknell was committed to making health services work better for the poor and other difficult to serve populations, Feeley said.
He was interested various aspects of public health and health care, including delivery and financing of health care, health care policy, international health, public health, medical education, health and social services for the elderly, bioterrorism and emergency preparedness, reality-based prevention, public-private sector interactions and the donor process as it relates to lower income countries, according to his BU biography page.
Joe Anzalone, senior manager of the SPH international health department, remembered Bicknell sitting cross-legged atop a desk, giving pizza to participants attending mid-course reviews and asking, “what works, what doesn’t, who should we keep, who should we fire?”
“It was an open forum for criticism and feedback directly to the ear of the top guy, something that many of these seasoned professionals had not seen before,” Anzalone said in an email. “Bill was open to criticism and candid about the business of running training program, and the participants loved him for that.”
Freeley said Bicknell was clear of mind and a champion of public health even in his battle with cancer.
“Right up to the end, Bill was providing firm advice to do the right thing by public health even if it would create some waves,” he said.
A memorial service is scheduled for 11 a.m. on June 16 at North Community Church on 72 Old Main St. in Marshfield Hills.
The Lesotho Boston Health Alliance will construct a house in Bill’s honor for medical students, residents and visitors at Motebang Hospital in Leribe, Lesotho.
Tax-deductible donations to the Lesotho Boston Health Alliance may be sent to Global Primary Care, P.O. Box 181084, Boston, MA 02118.
