Disease Control Centers Chief Quits; Was Notified He Would Be Replaced
The federal government’s top disease tracker resigned Wednesday after a three-year term during which his agency placed new emphasis on preventing illness but was criticized for its AIDS policies.
Dr. William L. Roper, an appointee from the George Bush Administration, said he did not want to leave as head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, but the Clinton Administration notified him last week that he would be replaced.
“I indicated . . . that I’d prefer to stay, but I was very realistic all along,” Roper said.
He announced his resignation, effective June 30, during an emotional address Wednesday to CDC employees. “The thing I’m most proud of is that we have made the CDC the nation’s (disease) prevention agency,” he said.
Former CDC Director Dr. William Foege is heading a committee to search for Roper’s successor, Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala said.
Roper, 44, tried to forge a new identity for the Atlanta-based CDC, which uses $1.7 billion and 7,000 employees to track diseases and stem public health emergencies.
A former Alabama pediatrician, Roper emphasized children’s health as well as disease prevention, pushing Congress to add “Prevention” to CDC’s title to demonstrate its importance.
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