Steven A. Schroeder (born July 26, 1939) is an American physician and academic. He is a Distinguished Professor of Health and Healthcare at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and served as president and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) from 1990 to 2002.
Raised in El Cerrito, California, Schroeder graduated from Stanford University in 1960. He earned his M.D. from Harvard Medical School in 1964. From 1966 to 1968, he served as an Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) Officer for the CDC, where he led the Salmonellosis Unit.
He held a faculty appointment at the George Washington University School of Medicine & Health Sciences starting in 1971. In 1976, he joined the UCSF faculty, establishing the Division of General Internal Medicine there in 1980.
As President and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Schroeder managed the distribution of approximately $4 billion in grants. During his tenure, the foundation launched national tobacco control initiatives. Author Joel Fleishman later characterized these programs as among the most impactful foundation initiatives of the 20th century.
Schroeder's administration also funded programs targeting end-of-life care, a move credited with helping establish palliative care as a recognized medical specialty. Other efforts included the expansion of health insurance for children following the implementation of CHIP.
In 2003, Schroeder established the Smoking Cessation Leadership Center (SCLC) at UCSF. The center focuses on cessation rates among high-prevalence populations, such as those with mental illness or substance use disorders.
Schroeder has authored over 300 publications. His 2007 Shattuck Lecture, "We Can Do Better â Improving the Health of the American People," remains a seminal text regarding the social determinants of health. In 2014, he was appointed to the federal Interagency Committee on Smoking and Health.
Schroeder is an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Schroeder is married to Sally Ross and resides in Tiburon, California. They have two sons and four grandchildren.