This month, SPH Professor Mitch Mokhtari will expand his role within the School of Public Health (SPH) as its associate dean for faculty affairs. He brings decades of academic, administrative and global experience to the leadership position.
As associate dean, Mokhtari will develop and oversee schoolwide policy development and guidance for both professional track and tenure track faculty, with responsibilities for workloads, hiring, evaluation and merit increases in alignment with campus policies. He will manage and oversee promotion and tenure oversight, along with other faculty milestones, as well as supporting faculty with professional development, conflict resolution, and collaboration between campus and SPH leadership and faculty to address challenges and enhance success.
“My goal is to be a trusted adviser and honest broker for our faculty: clear policies, fair processes and real support for professional growth at every career stage,” Mokhtari said. “I've seen firsthand how much our faculty give to this school, and I'm excited to give back by helping them thrive."
I've seen firsthand how much our faculty give to this school, and I'm excited to give back by helping them thrive.
A professor in the SPH Department of Family Science, where he recently served as associate chair, Dr. Mokhtari has decades of wide-ranging leadership experience to draw on for this role. Notably, he has helped shape economic and financial reforms in 20 countries, including by working on projects that strengthen governance, resource use and public financial systems, as well as improve healthcare and infrastructure and many other aspects key to national and community wellbeing.
He also brings a wealth of experience in academic institutions, including faculty appointments at Princeton University, the New Economic School, Eurasia University and the University of Houston and as a senior research associate at the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies at Georgia State University. Dr. Mokhtari is also a recipient of SPH’s George F. Kramer Outstanding Practitioner Award. A highly successful researcher, Dr. Mokhtari’s publications have appeared in top-tier journals, and he has also served as editor of Affordable Health Care, Health and Consumer Finance, and Health, Economics, and the Family Role.
“As many of us in the School of Public Health know firsthand, Dr. Mitch Mokhtari is a scholar, a leader and a compassionate and wise colleague to many. His leadership will reinforce the continued success of our faculty, to the benefit of our whole community,” said SPH Dean Boris Lushniak.
Dr. Mokhtari’s two-year, renewable appointment began this month.