John M. Hunter

BA (Honors), Ph.D. Geography (Reading, U.K., 1954), Professor of Geography, African Studies, Institute of International Health, Michigan State University, 1967-1995. Retired, University Distinguished Professor Emeritus, 1995.


Department of Geography
Michigan State University
East Lansing, Michigan 48824

Telephone (517) 355-4649 Department; (517) 351-4066 Residence

FAX: Department of Geography (517) 432-1671

EMAIL:  hunterjj@msu.edu or  briam@msu.edu Care of Office Supervisor, Department of Geography

 

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE:

Army Service West Africa 1954-57; University of Ghana (through University of London), 1957-64; University of Durham, U.K., 1964-67; Michigan State University 1967-95: Acting Chair, Community Medicine, 1972-73, Director, African Studies Center, 1975-77, Adjunct Professor of Anthropology, 1976-82; Ghana Population Census Officer, 1959-62; National Academy of Science, Committee on Lead in the Human Environment, 1978-79; National Academy of Science, Board on Science and Technology (BOSTID) Panelist, 1986-88; Consultant, World Health Organization, 1972-; USAID, 1977. Chairperson, Association of American Geographers Medical Geography Specialty Group, 1983-86. World Health Organization Commission on Health and Environment, 1990-92.

 

RESEARCH INTERESTS:

Geography of Africa, world medical geography.

 

Education:

  • B.A. (with honors) in Geography, University of Reading, England, 1949
  • Diploma in Education, University of Reading, England, 1950
  • Teacher's Certificate, University of Reading, England, 1950
  • Ph.D. in Geography, University of Reading, England, 1954

     

    Professional Appointments:

      1950-51 University of Reading, Graduate Assistant

      1954-57 Commissioned Officer, British Army, Captain

      1957-63 University of Ghana, Lecturer

      1963-64 University of Ghana, Senior Lecturer

      1964-67 University of Durham, Lecturer

    Michigan State University:

      1967-69 Associate Professor of Geography; of African Studies

      1969-95 Professor of Geography; of African Studies

      1971 Acting Director, African Studies Center

      1972-78 Professor of Community Medicine

      1972-73 Acting Chairperson, Community Medicine

      1975-77 Director, African Studies Center

      1976-82 Adjunct Professor of Anthropology

      1978-93 Professor of Community Health Science

      1987-95 Professor, Institute of International Health

     

    Awards, Consultantships, and Honors:

    • Ghana Government: Population Census Office, 1959-62
    • World Health Organization: Short Term Consultant, Onchocerciasis (river blindness), 1972-
    • World Health Organization: Scientific Advisory Panel, Schisto Somiasis, 1974-79
    • Department of State, Agency for International Development, Sahel Development Program, 1976, 1977
    • University of Sierra Leone, External Examiner, 1977, 1979, 1980
    • National Academy of Sciences, Committee on Lead in the Human Environment, 1978-79
    • Senior Fulbright-Hays Fellowship 1980-81 Sierra Leone
    • U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment, Panel on Tropical Deforestation, 1982
    • MSU Distinquished Faculty Award, 1982
    • National Academy of Sciences, Board on Science and Technology for International Development, Panelist, 1986-88
    • National Geographic Society Centennial Symposium Speaker, 1988
    • MSU University Distinquished Professor(title), 1990
    • World Health Organization Commission on Health and Environment, 1990

     

    Membership of Professional Associations

    • American Geographical Society
    • Association of American Geographers
    • National Council for Geographic Education
    • Royal Geographical Society
    • Institute of British Geographers
    • American Public Health Association
    • American Association for the Advancement of Science

     

    PUBLICATIONS:

    Articles on childhood lead poisoning, river blindness, tuberculosis, leprosy, influenza, schistosomiasis, lymphatic filariasis (elephantiasis), guinea worm disease, man-made lakes and disease, development and disease, blood pressure and economic development, bot fly infestation, clay eating in pregnancy, 19th century mental health, perinatal health care, loss of teeth and quality of life, seasonal hunger, population pressure, population carrying capacity, social roots of settlement, spatial patterns of clans, migration of cocoa farmers, shifting agriculture, bauxite morphology, river capture, escarpment retreat, water pollution, environmental degradation, and teaching methods.

    RECENT PUBLICATIONS IN MEDICAL GEOGRAPHY, 1992-2000

    GLOBAL CONTEXT

    OUR PLANET, OUR HEALTH. Report of World Health Organization Commission on Health and the Environment. 282p. WHO, Geneva, 1992. ISBM 92 4 156148 3. NLM: WA 30. Available from Publications Office. JMH served as one of 22 commissioners. There are four accompanying panel reports: Urbanization (160p.); Energy (155p.); Industry (219p.) and Food and Agriculture (191p.)

    INDUSTRIAL AND URBAN WATER POLLUTION

    "Paradise Lost: An Introduction to the Geography of Water Pollution in Puerto Rico," with Sonia I. Arbona. Social Science and Medicine (Pergamon Press, Oxford), Vol.40,No.10, 1995, pp.1331-1355.

    "Economic Development Threatens Groundwater in Puerto Rico: Results of a Field Study," with Sonia I. Arbona (first author). Journal of Geography Vol.94, No.6, 1995, pp.558-569.

    "The Geography of Land Use and Water Quality in Sonia I. Arbona (first author). Yearbook, Conference of Latin Americanist Geographers, 1993, Vol.19, pp.93-111.

    CLAY EATING IN PREGNANCY

    "Macroterme Geophagy and Pregnancy Clays in Southern Africa," Journal of Cultural Geography Vol.14, No.1, Fall\Winter 1993, pp.659-92.

    ZOONOSES: MAGGOTS

    "Bot Fly Maggot Infestation in Latin America," The Geographical Review (American Geographical Society), Vol.80, No.4, October 1990, pp.382-398.

    GEOGRAPHY OF PERMANENT TEETH

    "The Tooth as a Marker of Developing World Quality of Life: a field study in Guatemala," with S.I. Arbona. Social Science and Medicine (Pergmon Press, Oxford), Vol.41, No.9, 1995 pp.1217-1240.

    SCHISTOSOMIASIS, FILARIASIS, MALARIA IN WATER RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT:

    Parasitic Diseases in Water Resources Development: The Need for Intersectoral Negotiation. John M. Hunter first author; co-authors Luis Rey, K.Y. Chu, E. Adekolu-John, and K.E. Mott, World Health Organization. Geneva, 1993, 152 p. ISBN 92 4 156155 6. NLM:WC695.

    "Elephantiasis: a disease of development in north east Ghana," Social Science and Medicine (Pergamon Press, Oxford), Vol.35, No.5, 1992, pp.627-649.

    PATTERNS OF GUINEA WORM INFESTATION (TRILOGY)

    "An Introduction to Guinea Worm on the Eve of its Departure: dracunculiasis transmission, health effects, ecology, and control," Social Science and Medicine (Pergamon-Elsevier Science, Oxford) Vol.43, No. 9, 1996, pp. 1399-1425.

    "Geographical Patterns of Guinea Worm Disease, Ghana: an historical contribution", Social Science and Medicine (Pergamon-Elsevier Science, Oxford) Vol. 44, No. 1, 1996, pp. 103-122.

    "Bore Holes and the Vanishing of Guinea Worm Disease in the Upper Region of Ghana". Social Science and Medicine (Pergamon-Elsevier Science, Oxford) Vol. 45, No. 1, 1997, pp. 71-89.

    ECONOMIC CHANGE AND HYPERTENSION

    "Prevalence of Hypertension among Women in Rural Zimbabwe", B. Sparks, H. Sparks, C.T. Musabayane, J. Mufunda, K. Mahomed, and J.M. Hunter. Central African Journal of MedicineVol. 42, No. 4, April 1996 pp. 93-97.

    "Economic Development and Women's Blood Pressure: Field Evidence from Rural Mashonaland, Zimbabwe", J.M. Hunter, B.T. Sparks, J. Mafunda, C.T. Musabayane, H.V. Sparks, K. Mahomed. Social Science and Medicine (Pergamon-Elsevier, Oxford). Vol. 50, No. 6, 2000, pp. 773.795.

     

    DATED December 2, 2000