What do you do at Kent State’s College of Public Health?
I am a professor of health policy and management (HPM) in the College of Public Health, where I teach courses on public health administration, health care systems and survey research methods. I also currently serve as the HPM graduate programs coordinator and as the interim associate dean for academic affairs in the college.
My research focuses on racial and ethnic disparities in health care, limited health literacy, and care outcomes associated with structural changes in health care. Professional service includes serving as an associate editor for Evaluation and the Health Professions, a peer-reviewed journal that covers all aspects of the evaluation of health care. I also serve on the national Faculty Advisory Board for Students Supporting Israel.
What is your latest research/project?
My current project is writing a textbook with Dr. Timothy Johnson (professor emeritus, University of Illinois at Chicago) on research methods for surveying clinicians which will be published by Guilford Press. As part of this project, we are also conducting original research on office policies and processes impacting the handling of clinician survey requests. Additionally, I recently collaborated with faculty in the Kent State University School of Information (iSchool), the American University of Nigeria and Columbia University on a Co-Impact/New Venture Fund proposal addressing multiple literacies in Northeast Nigeria.
Favorite teaching moment?
My favorite teaching moment was in the original leadership MPH program offered on our Twinsburg regional campus. This program was specifically tailored to working professionals from different disciplines, including those already in a management role or who aspired to a career in administration. I was teaching the MPH core course on public health administration using lecture slides that included what I considered a simple transition slide that had a picture of colored ‘eggs’ representing different institutions and agencies and how they are linked to form a typical public health system within a community. Three hours later, we were still on that same slide, with students from diverse backgrounds exploring – some for the first time – how their professional experiences or aspirations ‘fit’ within the broad interdisciplinary, or some would argue transdisciplinary, paradigm of public health.
If you could have three apps on your smartphone, which would you pick and why?
The Weather Channel app, just to know whether I can get to campus with dry feet. Outlook, so I can maintain email contact with colleagues and family. The last is the Line app, which allows me to communicate with family in Taiwan.
What’s your favorite way to unwind after a busy day?
I unwind by spending time with family. My wife is an avid gardener, so in the spring and summer I help her. I also enjoy reading books or watching videos on history.
What is the last TV show or book that you read?
I really do not watch TV. I do enjoy reading a wide variety of literary genres, with my most recent book being Intellectuals and Society by Thomas Sowell. Probably my favorite book is To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee.
Complete the following sentence: “Key elements of leadership include:”
Key elements of leadership include honesty, the capacity for self-reflection or awareness, empathy, respect, and the courage to take risks. Most important, a good leader must be able to relate with and be willing to serve others.
What is something that you are looking forward to both personally and professionally?
What I enjoy most about my profession is being able to write. My hope is to find time to work on a couple of long-delayed writing projects, including an updated systematic review on adolescent health care disparities.