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The University will expand learning and research expertise through strategic recruitment and investments in key health sectors
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – A systematic recruitment effort to expand Purdue UniversityDiversifying the racial makeup of the faculty and its focus on public health and health equity has reached a major milestone, with 11 new faculty members starting their Boilermaker academic careers this fall.
Appointed as part of an inaugural cluster hiring search in conjunction with Purdue’s centrally-funded Equity Task Force, these new faculty occupy six departments in the Colleges of Health and Human Sciences and Pharmacy and the School of Library and Information Studies.
Marion Underwood, dean of the College of Health and Human Sciences, said, “This outstanding new addition to the Boilermaker faculty will strengthen our growing public health impact and advance Purdue’s research, teaching and engagement excellence in public health and health equity.
Underwood, along with Eric Barker, Jenny and Jim Chaney, dean of pharmacy, developed the Purdue Cluster Recruitment Proposal, which calls for the university to invest heavily in public health and health equity. Karen Plaut, Dean of Agriculture at Glenn W. Sample; and Willie Reed, Dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine.
An important part of many years, $75 million effort as if Equity Task Force and Purdue Board of Trustees It was a group of campus interdisciplinary cluster recruiters operating through inclusive searches designed to bring a diverse group of scholars to Purdue, said John Gates, Purdue’s vice provost for diversity and inclusion. Office of Diversity, Inclusion and Equity.
“Hiring these outstanding scholars is a critical step in responding to the call to become a more diverse campus. We know a more diverse faculty and student body will lift the research and learning enterprise of our entire university, Gates said.
The employment landscape is particularly favorable in public health, with a strong pool of young, black faculty nationally pursuing tenure opportunities in the field, which includes policy, equity and other emerging areas of study and research.
“It’s an honor, truly a privilege, to be part of the largest class of new faculty at Purdue and a member of the university’s black faculty community,” said Andrea Hayes, assistant professor of library and information studies. Skilled in public health literacy among underrepresented and underserved populations.
“To make the impact needed in our global health community, we need more equitable and diverse faculty positions. To do that, Purdue is taking these important steps. It may be a lofty, lofty goal, but we must aim higher.”
In addition, the focus on public health aligns with Purdue’s current and future plans to increase the number of outstanding and diverse scholars with degrees in public health and health equity by 2020. NSF Survey of Doctoral Degrees.
“Expanding and encouraging Purdue’s academic diversity and increasing the number of underrepresented faculty on our growing campus will enhance our excellence and is an important step toward advancing our progress in public health and health equity,” Underwood said. “The knowledge and perspectives these fellows bring will enhance our teaching and learning environment, disciplinary studies and community engagement.”
Carlos Mahaffey is arriving this semester as an assistant professor of public health in Purdue’s College of Health and Human Sciences. He comes from Oklahoma State University, where he plans to advance research and scholarship in sexual health.
“We want to see ourselves as we used to be,” said Mahaffey, who earned a doctorate in pharmacy from Florida A&M University and a master’s in public health from Morehouse School of Medicine. “Just my presence here sends a message to other black scholars seeking opportunities for advancement in academia that Purdue supports and prioritizes a culture of diversity.”
A new practice in higher education that began in the late 1990s, cluster hiring involves adding or “clustering” faculty across multiple departments or colleges around interdisciplinary research topics. Purdue has used this hiring strategy to successfully strengthen specific research areas in the past.
The 11 faculty members recruited through this strategic cluster on public health and health equity bring outstanding scholarship and research excellence in their respective fields. Those areas of academic expertise range from mental health disparities, preventive health behavior promotion and health policy to epidemiology, biostatistics, diet and nutrition, and health intervention and promotion programs for marginalized communities. Faculty members who began their academic careers at Boilermaker this fall are:
- College of Health and Human Sciences/Department of Human Development and Family Studies: Paul Robbins (Duke University)
- HHS/Nursing: Haochen Wang (Texas A&M University) and Sujung Jo (Arizona State University).
- HHS/Nutrition Science: Patricia Wolf (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign).
- HHS/Public Health: Shandy Malcolm (National Epidemiologist of Turks and Caicos) Carlos Mahafi (Oklahoma State University) Afsan Bhadelia (Harvard School of Public Health) and Bukola Usidame (University of Michigan).
- School of Library and Information Studies: Andrea Hayes (University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences).
- Pharmacy/Pharmacy Practice: Faria Chaudhry (St. Joseph’s Health System) and Michael Preston (University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences).
The public health and health equity cluster’s hiring search will resume this fall for three unfilled positions in the Brian Lamb School of Communication and Health Sciences and Sociology departments.
In collaboration with the Equity Task Force and Purdue’s expanding focus on community health and health equity, former Indiana State Health Commissioner Dr. Jerome Adams and the 20th U.S. Surgeon General He was appointed In October 2021, he will serve as the Presidential Fellow and Executive Director of Purdue’s Health Equity Initiative, a professor of practice in the Departments of Pharmacy Practice and Public Health, and a member of the Health Care Engineering faculty at the Purdue Regenstrief Center.
In addition, two new faculty cohorts will begin this fall, for a total of eight positions.
- The first of these focuses on sustainable and equitable urban environments and food systems. Recruits may land in one or more of five departments within the College of Agriculture (agronomy, horticulture and landscape architecture, food science, agricultural and biological engineering, and/or agricultural economics).
- The second is the prevention and treatment of antimicrobial resistance. Recruits are targeted in Colleges of Veterinary Medicine, Science and Agriculture (Comparative Biology, Veterinary Clinical Sciences, Chemistry, Biological Sciences and Animal Sciences).
About Purdue University
Purdue University is a leading public research institution that develops practical solutions to today’s pressing challenges. Ranked as one of the 10 most innovative universities in the United States by US News & World Report for each of the past five years, Purdue offers world-changing research and world-class discovery. Committed to hands-on and online, real-world learning, Purdue offers a transformative education for all. Committed to affordability and access, Purdue raised tuition and most fees to the 2012-13 levels, allowing more students to graduate debt-free than ever before. See how Purdue is relentless in its pursuit of the next giant leap https://stories.purdue.edu.
Secretary: Philip Fiorini, 765-430-6189; pfiorini@purdue.edu765-430-6189
Media Relations: Trevor Peters, peter237@purdue.edu765-494-2073
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