News

Dr. Paul Erwin has been appointed director of the new Center for Public Health.  Erwin has been the East Tennessee regional director of the Tennessee Department of Health since 1995.  He took his post on September 1, 2007.  The center will be housed in the College of Education, Health and Human Sciences.

The mission of the center is to help improve the health of Tennesseans through research and teaching.  The center will accomplish that goal by coordinating the academic units on campus that research public health initiatives and the programs that train public health professionals.

The center has had an informal infrastructure since it was first envisioned three years ago by Dr. Jay Whelan, professor and head of the Department of Nutrition.  Whelan served as temporary director, working with a board made up of deans, department heads and officials from local and state health departments.

“The pieces of the puzzle are on campus.  The center puts the pieces together and solidifies our common projects and goals of strengthening an emphasis on health at the university,” Whelan said.  “I am excited Chancellor Loren Crabtree and the university administration value this health initiative.  It’s an investment in the University of Tennessee and the state”.

“Dr. Paul Erwin is eminently qualified to serve as the founding director of this new center.  His medical credentials and experience in the public health arena will serve UT well as we engage in the important work of improving the health and well-being of Tennesseans,” said Dr. Bob Rider, dean of the college.

Erwin will further develop the center’s growth and define its role on campus and in East Tennessee.  “The opportunities for exploring and understanding the relationships between the performance of public health systems, health outcomes and health inequities are great.  The Center for Public Health can contribute to this by engaging students and faculty in various health-related fields through community-based, participatory research,” Erwin said.

“It is also an opportune moment for being on the front end of research and evaluation for newly developing national programs such as public health accreditations,” he said.

 

Contact CPH

302 Bailey Education Complex
1122 Volunteer Blvd.
Knoxville, TN 37996
Phone: (865) 974-5249
Fax: (865) 974-8718
Email: cph@utk.edu