Lonnie R. Snowden, longtime professor at the University of California, Berkeley, passed away unexpectedly on January 25. He was 77 years old.
Prior to his long career in California, Dr. Snowden spent three years teaching psychology at the University of Oregon. In 1978, he joined the faculty at Berkeley, where he remained for the rest of his life. He began his tenure as an assistant professor at Berkeley Social Welfare, rising through the ranks to full professor and earning an affiliate appointment with the School of Public Health’s department of health services and policy analysis.
As Dr. Snowden began to focus his career on policy development, he joined the School of Public Health in 2008 as a professor in the health policy and management division. In 2012, he transitioned his primary appointment to the university’s Graduate School. At the time of his death, he was still affiliated with the university, conducting ongoing research as a professor emeritus.
Dr. Snowden’s scholarship focused on advancing mental health services and eliminating racial disparities in healthcare. He had a stint as director of UC Berkeley’s Center for Mental Health Services Research and as a member of several advisory committees at the National Institutes of Mental Health and Drug Abuse. He wrote extensively about achieving equity in healthcare delivery and treatment, including his book, Reaching the Underserved: Mental Health Needs of Neglected Populations (Sage Publications, 1982).
A native of Detroit, Dr. Snowden earned his bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Michigan and his Ph.D. from Wayne State University in Detroit.
