Health, Activity and Nutrition Expert Bill Kohl Joins
UT School of Public Health and UT Austin Faculties
HOUSTON – (Sept. 11, 2007) – Harold W. (Bill) Kohl, Ph.D., who worked to build a national and global agenda for physical activity promotion at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, will join The University of Texas School of Public Health as professor of epidemiology and disease control.
Harold W. (Bill) Kohl, Ph.D.
Kohl, who starts his new position Oct. 1 at the school’s Austin regional campus and the Michael & Susan Dell Center for Advancement of Healthy Living, will hold a joint position as professor of kinesiology at The University of Texas at Austin’s Department of Kinesiology and Health Education.
“Dr. Kohl is the perfect person for linking these two institutions with strong leadership, teaching and research skills in both of these important concentrations – public health and kinesiology,” said Austin Regional Campus Dean Cheryl Perry, Ph.D.
Kohl will be responsible for developing a physical activity epidemiology training program for students at the UT School of Public Health and UT Austin.
“We are very pleased to have the expertise of someone who has such a strong passion for health, nutrition and physical activity. Dr. Kohl is an enormous asset to our team,” said Deanna Hoelscher, Ph.D., director of the Dell Center and associate professor of health promotion/behavioral sciences and nutrition in the UT School of Public Health. “His extensive knowledge and experience will be invaluable as the center continues to address the epidemic of childhood obesity through research and community education.”
Kohl will be leaving his position as team leader for epidemiology and surveillance in the Physical Activity and Health Branch of the CDC’s Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity. He advises the Department of Health and Human Services Physical Activity Guidelines Advisory Committee, which was formed last April to recommend the first federal guidelines to focus solely on physical activity.
“Our country faces a serious problem with obesity and other chronic diseases. Research suggests that even modest increases in physical activity can have health enhancing effects,” Kohl said. “I’m excited about working with the team to help make the Dell Center and Texas a leader in promoting active lifestyles.”
Prior to the CDC, Kohl was director of physical activity and nutrition at the International Life Sciences Institute Center for Health Promotion in Atlanta, a non-profit foundation. There he focused on program development and evaluation for school-based promotion of physical activity for children.