University names new dean for the School of Public Health

COLUMBUS -- President Karen A. Holbrook and Interim Executive Vice President and Provost Barbara R. Snyder have recommended the appointment of Stanley Lemeshow as dean for the School of Public Health, effective August 9, 2003, through June 30, 2008. Holbrook will ask the university’s Board of Trustees to approve the appointment at its Sept. 5 meeting.

Lemeshow has served as a professor of epidemiology and biometry in the School of Public Health and in the Department of Statistics at Ohio State for the past four years. He also has served concurrently as director of the university’s Center for Biostatistics. Prior to that, he was professor of public health, chair of biostatics and epidemiology, and director of the biopharmaceutic research unit at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

“I am delighted that we have someone the caliber of Dr. Lemeshow already at Ohio State who was able and willing to serve a greater leadership role within the School of Public Health,” Holbrook said. “Dr. Lemeshow has exhibited an extraordinary record of research and scholarship that speaks to the high quality of science that is conducted by our faculty in public health, and he has a clear vision toward the development of a strong, nationally recognized school.”

Lemeshow’s research focuses on regression modeling, experimental design and sampling methods, and he has written six textbooks and more than 90 articles in refereed journals. He is also associate editor of The Stata Journal and The Journal of Biopharmaceutical Sciences. He received his Ph.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles, where his major field of study was biostatistics and his minor field was epidemiology.

The Office of Academic Affairs conducted a national search, led by Steve Wilson, director of the School of Allied Health, to seek applications for the dean position. Snyder said, “The committee identified a number of outstanding candidates during its search process, but his impressive credentials convinced both the president and me that Dr. Lemeshow is well-suited to lead the school as it furthers its academic mission. We were especially pleased to have found our top candidate from among our own ranks.”

Lemeshow led an annual short course on regression and categorical methods for the New England Epidemiology Institute for 17 years, and he has taught short statistics courses in numerous European and American cities. Lemeshow also holds membership in a variety of scholarly societies and is the recipient of numerous awards and honors.

“I am very excited about assuming the deanship of the School of Public Health. I appreciate the enormous impact an accredited School of Public Health can have on local, national and international levels. We are fortunate to be part of an outstanding university offering many strong research programs with which our faculty and professional staff will continue to collaborate. As the only accredited School of Public Health in the state of Ohio, we will also have many opportunities to work with our state and local health departments. I am committed to enhancing our excellent reputation, to recruiting dynamic faculty, to attracting top-tier students, to continue building strong academic programs and to advancing the goals of the Academic Plan. Working with my colleagues, I hope to make Ohio State's School of Public Health one of the top schools in the nation,” said Lemeshow.