Michael G Perri, Ph.D.

Dr. Michael G. Perri served as dean of the College of Public Health and Health Professions from 2007 to 2022. During his tenure, the college achieved accreditation from the Council on Education for Public Health and expanded its academic portfolio to include a bachelor’s in public health, a doctorate in occupational therapy, and Ph.D. programs in biostatistics, environmental health, epidemiology, One Health, and social and behavioral sciences. Student enrollment increased from 1,700 students to more than 2,900, and the number of degrees awarded annually grew from 450 to more than 700 per year. Dr. Perri directed the expansion of the faculty from 105 to more than 190 with members working on projects in the state, nation, and across the globe addressing a diverse array of issues, including addiction, artificial intelligence, cognitive aging, dementia, diabetes, driving safety, environmental health, infectious diseases, muscular dystrophy, obesity, pain, and swallowing disorders. During Dr. Perri’s tenure, the college’s extramural research awards increased from $14 million to $45 million per year, and in 2022 the college was ranked ninth in National Institutes of Health research funding among schools of public health at public universities. An elected fellow of the American Psychological Association, the Society of Behavioral Medicine, and The Obesity Society, Dr. Perri’s research has focused on health promotion and disease prevention through changes in diet and physical activity. He has contributed to more than 200 publications, and he has been the Principal Investigator or Co-Investigator for more than $65 million in research grants and contracts funded by the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and private industry. Dr. Perri is a prior recipient of the American Psychological Association’s Samuel M. Turner Award for Distinguished Contributions to Applied Research in Clinical Psychology and the Society of Behavioral Medicine’s Distinguished Research Mentor Award.

Health promotion; behavioral management of obesity