Press Release

CONTACT: Debra Humphreys
(202) 387-3760
E-mail: humphreys@aacu.org

New Senior Fellow to Help Mobilize Higher Education Leadership to Address Global Impact of HIV/AIDS

Indiana University Professor Lloyd J. Kolbe Joins AAC&U Program for Health and Higher Education

Washington, DC—October 18, 2003—The Association of American Colleges and Universities announced today the appointment of Dr. Lloyd J. Kolbe, Professor of Applied Health Science at Indiana University, as a senior fellow. Dr. Kolbe will work in AAC&U's Program for Health and Higher Education (PHHE) assisting staff members as they mobilize higher education leadership to take action to meet the global challenge of HIV disease.

As part of several activities sponsored by PHHE, AAC&U is organizing a national dialogue about how colleges and universities can take action to address the global HIV/AIDS pandemic on campuses, in communities, and around the world. PHHE hopes that this dialogue will help define a new series of local actions that campus leaders, students, and citizens can take that will have a major impact in locations where HIV is doing the most damage around the world.

"I can think of no one better positioned to help AAC&U mobilize higher education's tremendous resources in the struggle against HIV,” said AAC&U Senior Policy Director, W. David Burns. “Lloyd Kolbe is a national and international leader in the efforts to forge strategic partnerships between schools and those responsible for public health. We are delighted that he will be sharing his great expertise with our team and AAC&U's members."

Professor Kolbe received his doctoral degree from the University of Toledo and has served as associate director of the University of Texas Center for Health Promotion Research and Development; chief of the Office of School Health and Special Projects at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC); and founding director of CDC's Division of Adolescent and School Health, among other posts. He has also served as president of the American School Health Association and chairman of the World Health Organization Expert Committee on Comprehensive School Health Education and Promotion.

The Program for Health and Higher Education is a program of the Association of American Colleges and Universities that seeks to increase student engagement with the complex issue of HIV/AIDS and other preventable diseases through academic courses. PHHE develops partnerships with campuses and communities to promote learning by focusing on health and to promote health by strengthening learning. PHHE also sponsors the National Leadership Resource Database, an online catalog of courses and course modules addressing the full spectrum of public health concerns and featuring more than 300 examples of courses and modules taught at 183 institutions and drawn from a variety of curricular fields.
For more information about PHHE, see http://www.aacu.org/phhe/index.cfm.

AAC&U is the leading national association devoted to advancing and strengthening liberal learning for all students, regardless of academic specialization or intended career. Since its founding in 1915, AAC&U's membership has grown to more than 1000 accredited public and private colleges and universities of every type and size.

AAC&U functions as a catalyst and facilitator, forging links among presidents, administrators, and faculty members who are engaged in institutional and curricular planning. Its mission is to reinforce the collective commitment to liberal education at both the national and local levels and to help individual institutions keep the quality of student learning at the core of their work as they evolve to meet new economic and social challenges. Information about AAC&U membership, programs, and publications can be found at www.aacu.org.