Dean Mohammed Torabi said Seffrin will work within the Department of Applied Health Science as a professor in collaboration with his assisting in networking, development and fundraising for tobacco use prevention and control.
Recent American Lung Association data indicate that the economic cost from smoking in Indiana is $4.8 million. The smoking rate for adults in the state is 22 percent, while deaths attributed to smoking are nearly 10,000 per year, according to the release.
“I am both excited and delighted to join the Indiana University School of Public Health-Bloomington and its amazing faculty,” Seffrin said in the release. “The breadth and scope of research, teaching and community involvement within the school is stellar. The school is now positioned to not only take on the challenges we face collectively in public health but to lead the way in creating new approaches and new solutions.”
Seffrin served as a professor of health education and chair of the Department of Applied Health Science from 1979 to 1992.
Under his leadership, a number of programs within the department were recognized nationally for their excellence.
While at IU, he was also the director of the Center for Health and Safety and chair of the Hazard Control Program Advisory Board, according to the release.
“As we continue to recruit the best of the best, I couldn’t be more excited to bring Dr. Seffrin on board,” Torabi said in the release. “Dr. Seffrin is one of this nation’s foremost public health advocates, a dedicated public servant, and a longtime champion of research, practice and community engagement in public health. He will bring extensive experience and a keen mind for innovation to his new role as professor of practice and distinguished scholar at the School of Public Health-Bloomington.”
In 1992, Seffrin left IU to become the CEO of the American Cancer Society. He is also politically involved in the promotion of public health. He serves on the White House Advisory Group on Prevention, Health Promotion and Integrative and Public Health and formerly served on the Advisory Committee to the Director of United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Seffrin also helped create the National Center for Tobacco-Free Kids — now called the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids — which fights to reduce tobacco use in the U.S. and around the world.
Seffrin is a contributing author to more than a dozen books and more than 100 articles and other publications. Earlier this year, Torabi awarded Seffrin the Founding Dean’s Medallion, an award given to those whose careers have been dedicated to rigorous public health research, education and practice by preventing disease, promoting health and enhancing quality of life, according to the release.
Seffrin has a bachelor’s degree from Ball State University, a master’s degree from the University of Illinois and a doctorate from Purdue University, as well as honorary doctorates from the Medical University of South Carolina, Mercer University, the State University New York, Ball State University, Purdue University, Thomas Jefferson University and IU.
Alyson Malinger
