Jordan Named Director of IPHAM Center for Education in Health Sciences

November 9, 2020

Neil Jordan, PhD, professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and of Preventive Medicine, has been named director of the Center for Education in Health Sciences (CEHS), the education and training center within the Institute for Public Health and Medicine (IPHAM).

“It’s a pivotal time for the fields that comprise public and population health. The coronavirus pandemic has made it abundantly clear that, more than ever, we need superbly trained public and population health scientists who will provide the research and leadership needed to support the health and well-being of all Americans,” Jordan said. “Our CEHS training programs provide students and fellows with the essential skills and experiences they’ll need to be public and population health leaders for decades to come.”

The goal of CEHS is to train the next generation of public and population health scientists and leaders. Launched in 2012, CEHS comprises the Health Sciences Integrated PhD Program, four master’s programs—Master of Public Health (MPH), Master of Science in Biostatistics, Master of Science in Health Services and Outcomes Research (HSOR), and Master of Science in Healthcare Quality and Patient Safety—and several health services and rehabilitation research postdoctoral fellowships. The current student count in all of the CEHS programs is 244 and during the last academic year, CEHS had record enrollment in its MPH and Master’s in HSOR programs.

Jordan joined Northwestern in 2004. Since 2012, he has served as the director of the Health Sciences Integrated PhD (HSIP) program. As he takes on the new role of director of CEHS, IPHAM will conduct an internal search to identify Jordan’s successor in the HSIP director role.

Jordan has led the Mental Health Services and Policy Program in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences since 2010. He is also an active faculty member in the IPHAM Center for Health Services and Outcomes Research (CHSOR), where he has led the Health Economics Program since 2009.

Prior to joining Northwestern, Jordan spent three years as an assistant professor in the Department of Mental Health Law & Policy at the University of South Florida.

“As a new leader for the Center, Dr. Jordan has exhibited several important IPHAM values, including a genuine respect for contrasting views and ideas, a willingness to appraise what we do well and where we must improve in areas of diversity and inclusivity, a commitment to identify opportunities for coordination and collaboration across programs to achieve greater collective impact, and a focus on continually elevating our academic rigor to launch the careers of diverse professionals who go on to make many meaningful contributions in areas of research, public health, health care, and community,” said Ronald T. Ackermann, MD, MPH, director of IPHAM and senior associate dean for Public Health. “We are delighted to have Dr. Jordan in this role, and I personally look forward to working with him more closely as a member of our IPHAM leadership.”

“The Center’s many successes during the past 8 years result from the numerous efforts of CEHS program leaders, IPHAM and CEHS program staff and administrators, teaching faculty, and the students and trainees themselves,” said Jordan. “I am truly honored to be the next leader of CEHS, and look forward to guiding the Center towards an even greater impact on the communities we serve.”

Jordan received his undergraduate degree in Economics and his master’s degree in public management and policy from Carnegie Mellon University. He received his PhD in Health Services Research, Policy and Administration from the University of Minnesota in 2002.