The College of Public Health has appointed George Wehby, professor of health management and policy, as the John W. Colloton Chair in Health Management and Policy. The appointment will begin on July 1, 2020.

Wehby is an internationally recognized scholar in health economics and health services research with a focus on the social determinants of health, especially child and maternal health. He has published over 140 peer-reviewed articles in top tier scientific journals and leads an active research program, including currently serving as principal investigator on grants from the National Institutes of Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. His work examines socioeconomic, health care, and policy determinants of health, health and socioeconomic inequalities, long-term effects of early life conditions on health and human capital, and genetic influences on health and health care use. His collaborative research portfolio includes partnerships with colleagues and researchers across a wide range of social science and health science disciplines.

Wehby, who also directs the Department of Health Management and Policy’s doctoral and M.S. programs, teaches at both the graduate and undergraduate level in the College of Public Health. He developed the undergraduate public health course in Health Economics and has been consistently recognized for successfully mentoring both graduate students and junior faculty. He received the College of Public Health Outstanding Teaching Award in 2013.

“Dr. Wehby has a tremendous research and teaching record which embodies the spirit of the John W. Colloton Chair in Health Management and Policy,” noted College of Public Health Dean Edith Parker. “He is extremely worthy of this distinguished position and I have full confidence that he will continue to make pioneering contributions to the field of health services research.”

Wehby earned his Master of Public Health degree from American University of Beirut, followed by his Doctor of Philosophy in Health Management and Policy with a concentration in Health Economics from the University of Iowa in 2006. He joined the College of Public Health faculty as an assistant professor in 2008 and attained the rank of full professor with tenure in 2017. He holds secondary appointments in the Department of Economics, the Department of Preventive and Community Dentistry, and the UI Public Policy Center. Wehby also has been a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research since 2013.

The Colloton chair was established in 2000 to honor John W. Colloton, director emeritus of the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics and former UI vice president for statewide health services. Over a distinguished career of more than 40 years, Colloton guided the UIHC to its present status as one of the world’s premier medical centers. He earned his master’s degree in hospital and health administration from the University of Iowa in 1957.

See a John W. Colloton career synopsis

“The Department of Health Management and Policy is fortunate to have an endowed chair to honor the legacy of John Colloton, one of our program’s most dedicated supporters and accomplished alumni,” said Keith Mueller, Gerhard Hartman Professor and head of health management and policy. “I am delighted that George Wehby will hold this illustrious chair in our department and I know that his outstanding academic contributions will add to its distinction.”