David Allison, the new dean of the School of Public Health, is a fan of Vin Scelsa’s “Idiot’s Delight” radio show. When approaching his new position, Allison said he thinks of the quotation Scelsa always used as an opener for his Saturday show.
“There are three essential commandments: Respect the elders. Embrace the new. Encourage the practical and improbable without bias,” Vin Scelsa said to introduce his show, which went off-air in 2015.
Allison began his new job Aug. 15, leaving his associate dean position at the University of Alabama at Birmingham behind. He took the place of former dean Mohammad Torabi, who chose to go back to teaching as a member of the faculty.
Allison said a goal of his is to get more research funding for the School of Public Health. He said he thinks more funding will provide members of the school more opportunities for creative thinking.
“Research funding is the fuel to the advancement of science,” Allison said.
Allison said he has been interested in science since childhood, and his interest fueled his career and research.
“I was always the kid who liked to turn over the rock in the backyard and see what was under it,” Allison said.
Allison said he has a wide array of research experience, from testing on fruit flies to rodents to human clinical experiments but a large part of his research has focused on obesity from a psychological perspective.
Allison said he thinks his research experience will help him to relate to the faculty and students in the school, as they perform research.
Allison's role as associate dean at the University of Alabama at Birmingham was more research-focused, but he said he wanted the teaching and faculty focus of a dean’s job, leading him to apply at IU.
“It’s a bigger job, a broader job and also a more exciting job,” Allison said.
Torabi said he is glad to be returning to teaching and global affairs, and he thinks Allison has the right credentials and a strong character that will help him lead the School of Public Health.
“I couldn’t ask for a better replacement for my position,” Torabi said.
The School of Public Health received accreditation during Torabi’s time as dean, and he said he is grateful for everything that was achieved by the school during that time. Torabi said he thinks the school will achieve even more under the leadership of Allison.
“I have every reason to believe that the School of Public Health will become one of the top 10 in the nation in the next six years or so,” Torabi said.
