Wan Appointed New Director of Public Affairs Doctoral Program

Thomas Wan, professor of public affairs, health services administration and nursing in the College of Health and Public Affairs, has been appointed director of the Public Affairs Doctoral Program, effective June 1.

"Dr. Wan was the unanimous choice of the search committee," said college Dean Belinda McCarthy. "He brings to the program extensive experience in research and doctoral education, as well as valuable conceptual focus to public affairs."

Wan joined the college faculty in August 2003. From 1981 to 2003, he was a faculty member at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, where he served as professor and chair of the Department of Health Administration and founding director of the Ph.D. Program in Health Services Organization and Research. He has also held faculty positions at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., and the University of Maryland in Baltimore County.

Wan's work has been funded by several organizations, including the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Currently, he is the principal investigator of an NIH-funded study on nurse staffing and nursing care quality. He also serves on the NIH Study Section on Nursing Science. He is widely published in peer-review journals and books on health care and medical systems.

In addition to his experience in education and research, Wan brings to the program expertise in informatics, the rapidly evolving field in which computer technology and well-established organizing principles are used to manage and analyze complex sets of data. His leadership in applying informatics approaches to core areas of the public affairs' program -- criminal justice, health administration, public administration and social work -- should contribute greatly to research and scholarly efforts in the college and university.

"I am deeply honored by this appointment," Wan said. "The doctoral program has a solid foundation that will be further strengthened by improving its core foundation, research methods and cognate areas."

By collaborating with and receiving support from these areas, Wan expects the program to develop into a flagship interdisciplinary program for training outstanding scholars, researchers, educators and public affairs practitioners.

-- Karen Guin