James H. Ware


James Hutchinson Ware was a biostatician and the Professor of Biostatistics and Associate Dean for Clinical and Translational Science at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. He had been Academic Dean for 19 years under Deans Harvey Fineberg and Barry Bloom and served as Acting Dean from 1997 to 1998, as Harvey Fineberg assumed the position of Provost of Harvard University. During Ware's 19-year tenure as academic dean, the student the School's student body doubled in size and its research budget grew at an annual rate of eight percent. Ware was a co-investigator in the landmark Six Cities Study of Air Pollution and Health, which has had a profound effect on Clean Air Act regulations in the U.S. and efforts to limit air pollution around the world.

Education

James Ware joined the Harvard School of Public Health faculty in 1979 after receiving his PhD in statistics from Stanford University and spending eight years as mathematical statistician at the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. As Dean, he was involved with a number of controversial issues.
The annual James H. Ware Award is given to a graduating student or student team "from any department and program who have engaged in a practice opportunity or experience during their time at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health." There is also a James H. Ware Scholarship Fund.
He died of esophageal cancer on April 26, 2016. Flags were flown at half mast at the Harvard Medical School and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. His photo appeared in the Rosenau Auditorium in the Kresge Cafeteria of the School until Chan School Dean Michelle Williams replaced them with photos of African Americans in public health.

Honors