{"id":2745,"date":"2023-09-29T18:03:06","date_gmt":"2023-09-29T22:03:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cehhs.utk.edu\/publichealth\/?p=2745"},"modified":"2024-10-11T09:06:05","modified_gmt":"2024-10-11T13:06:05","slug":"dr-robert-h-kirk-passes-at-age-92","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cehhs.utk.edu\/publichealth\/2023\/09\/29\/dr-robert-h-kirk-passes-at-age-92\/","title":{"rendered":"Dr. Robert H. Kirk passes at age 92"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"lead\"> A ground-breaker has left us.<\/p>\n<p>We are sad to announce the passing of Dr. Robert H. Kirk (92) on September 25, 2023.\u00a0 Dr. Kirk joined the University of Tennessee in 1967 as an associate professor.\u00a0 <a href=\"http:\/\/cehhs.utk.edu\/publichealth\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/18\/2023\/09\/img_kirk.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"232\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-2747\" src=\"http:\/\/cehhs.utk.edu\/publichealth\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/18\/2023\/09\/img_kirk-232x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cehhs.utk.edu\/publichealth\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/18\/2023\/09\/img_kirk-232x300.jpg 232w, https:\/\/cehhs.utk.edu\/publichealth\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/18\/2023\/09\/img_kirk.jpg 360w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 232px) 100vw, 232px\" \/><\/a>He later became the first African American to attain the role of full professor in UTK history.<\/p>\n<p>Dr. Kirk later served as the department head for the Department of Safety (a precursor to the department of Public Health) and oversaw the university\u2019s Safety Center.\u00a0 He retired from the university in 2003.<\/p>\n<p>Over his long career, Dr. Kirk left a lasting impact in the fields of Public Health and Safety.\u00a0 He served as a consultant to such institutions as the Tennessee Department of Education, the National Cancer Institute, and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute among others.\u00a0 He was also a member of the board of directors of Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center and Covenant Health.\u00a0 Additionally, he became the first African-American to serve as commissioner of the Knoxville Utilities Board.<\/p>\n<p>The Department of Public Health would like to express our sincere sympathy to the family.\u00a0 Our thoughts are with you during this difficult time.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/jarniganandson.com\/dr-robert-h-kirk\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Dr. Robert Kirk Obituary<\/a><\/li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"article-title\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wate.com\/news\/top-stories\/first-tenured-african-american-professor-at-the-university-of-tennessee-dies\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">First tenured African American professor at the University of Tennessee dies at 92<\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div class=\"responsive-container\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Long time friend of Robert Kirk speaks on Department head&#039;s passing\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/U7Zn3rYOPhw?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We are sad to announce the passing of Dr. Robert H. Kirk (92) on September 25, 2023.\u00a0 Dr. Kirk joined [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":136,"featured_media":2746,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[110,200,42,131],"tags":[226,47,242,243],"class_list":["post-2745","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-announcements","category-current-events","category-faculty","category-media","tag-226","tag-faculty","tag-kirk","tag-memorial"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Dr. Robert H. 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