Table of Contents
School of Public Health Appoints Balcazar
Assistant Dean for El Paso Regional Campus
The University of Texas School of Public Health at Houston has named Hector Balcazar, Ph.D., the new assistant dean for its El Paso Regional Campus. The appointment was effective in June.
Hector Balcazar, Ph.D.
“I am very pleased that Dr. Balcazar has accepted the leadership role for our regional campus in El Paso,” said Guy Parcel, Ph.D., executive dean of the UT School of Public Health. “His academic leadership, experience and knowledge of working with Hispanic communities will greatly enhance the development of teaching and research programs addressing public health needs along the Texas-Mexico border.”
Balcazar was professor and chairman of the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences at the School of Public Health at the University of North Texas Health Science Center in Fort Worth.
He also works with local and national health organizations, such as the Center for Medicare and Medicaid and the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). He is an elected member of the expert panel of the Department of Health and Human Services Collection of Data on Race and Ethnicity for the National Academy of Sciences Committee on National Statistics.
Balcazar specializes in the study of public health problems among Latinos/Mexican Americans including birth outcomes, acculturation and health-related behaviors, cardiovascular disease prevention programs and border health issues. His most recent research projects include the North Texas Salud Para Su Corazon (Health For Your Heart) Community Health Initiative and a clinical study of diabetes in Hispanics.
Balcazar earned his bachelor’s degree at Iberoamericana University in Mexico City and received both his master’s and doctoral degrees from Cornell University.
Balcazar replaces interim assistant dean Jack Bristol, Ph.D., who has returned to retirement after assisting Balcazar during a “settling in” period this summer.
— By Pamela Cathion, Public Affairs