Biography - Christopher G. Atchison, MPA

Christopher G. Atchison is associate dean for public health practice and clinical professor of health management and policy at the University of Iowa College of Public Health.  In addition, Mr. Atchison is the director of the University Hygienic Laboratory, the state’s designated public health laboratory. He is also the director of the Institute for Public Health Practice, teaches the college's introduction to public health class, and is course director for the Master of Public Health (MPH) practicum required of all MPH candidates.  Mr. Atchison is currently the principal investigator on two federal grants: the CDC-funded Upper Midwest Public Health Preparedness Center and the HRSA-funded Upper Midwest Public Health Training Center.  Mr. Atchison also chairs The University of Iowa’s Pandemic Preparedness Task Force, is the chair of the Iowa Prevention of Disabilities Policy Council, and is on the board of the Child and Family Policy Center.  

Prior to joining the University, Mr. Atchison served for eight years as director of the Iowa Department of Public Health (1991-1999). During his tenure, Mr. Atchison chaired the Iowa Child Health Insurance Program (HAWK-I) Board, the Iowa Health Data Commission, and the Governor’s Task Force on Regulatory Reform.  He was vice-chair of Healthy Iowans 2010, the Long-Term Care Coordinating Council, and was a member of the Governor’s Health Care Reform Task Force and the Iowa Empowerment Board. 

At the national level, Mr. Atchison served as president of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) during the years 1994 and 1995 and was chair of the Joint Council of Official Health Agencies.  In 1998 he received ASTHO's Arthur T. McCormack Award for his contributions to public health practice.  He has also served as chair of the board for the Public Health Foundation, was a member of the New York Academy of Medicine's Committee on Medicine and Public Health, and served for eight years as national program director for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s State Health Leadership Initiative.