Entanglements of Eugenics, Public Health, and Academic Medicine: Reckoning with the Life and Legacies of Victor C. Vaughan.

Victor C. Vaughan (1851-1929) was a noted medical educator, microbiologist, and active proponent for the idea of eugenics. Vaughan spent his career at the University of Michigan, where he served as Medical School Dean for many years. He lectured widely on the importance of "race betterment" and actively supported passage of state legislation that led to over 3,000 sterilizations in the state of Michigan. After his death, Vaughan's name was applied to student organizations, endowed chairs, buildings, and more. This paper considers how the use of Vaughan's name not only reflected Vaughan's support of eugenics but also gendered and racialized ideas about what it means to be a physician. We conclude that the use of any name from the past carries meanings about what our values are in the present and that, if there was ever a moment to celebrate the life of Victor Vaughan, that moment has passed.