Georgia Southern University has tapped Stuart Tedders, Ph.D., as the next dean of the Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health.

 Tedders, a professor of epidemiology who started his career at Georgia Southern and has become a widely respected rural health researcher, has been serving as the college’s interim dean since July 2019. His appointment is effective immediately.

Tedders will lead one of the University's most productive colleges by expanding its influence on community health-related issues in the areas of undergraduate, graduate and public education. He will also expand the Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health’s research portfolio and impact on our citizens, said Carl Reiber, Georgia Southern’s provost and vice president for academic affairs.

“It is my pleasure to officially welcome Stuart to the leadership team and I look forward to working with him to move Georgia Southern University forward,” Reiber said. “We conducted a national search for this vital position and no one emerged who was more qualified or better suited than the man we already had on campus.”

 A native of Perry, Georgia, Tedders began his career at Georgia Southern University as an assistant professor in 2000 and was an original member of the Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health, which was founded on Jan. 1, 2006. He has served in numerous faculty and administrative capacities in the college, including the director of the Center for Rural Health Research and the director of the Office of Public Health Practice/Community Service. Prior to being appointed as interim dean, he served as associate dean for academic affairs since 2012.

Tedders earned a bachelor's degree in Biology from Georgia Southern College (1987), a master's degree in Medical Entomology from Clemson University (1989) and a doctoral degree in Public Health from the University of South Carolina (1994). As a former assistant professor at Mercer University School of Medicine (1994 - 2000), he developed a keen interest in working with rural communities in Georgia and was named Georgia Rural Health Researcher of the Year in 1999 by the Georgia Rural Health Association.
 
Tedders has worked with rural and underserved communities in Georgia for nearly 26 years. His community interactions have involved the application of epidemiologic principles, including public health surveillance, to more fully understand the complexities of population health in rural communities. He has considerable expertise in conducting community health assessments and working with rural communities to design and evaluate health promotion programs. His research interests involve the social, economic and educational factors that influence the perception of risk associated with cancer and infant mortality. He has held leadership positions on health-related boards throughout the state including the Georgia Rural Health Association, the Statewide Area Health Education Center (AHEC) Advisory Council, and the Morehouse School of Medicine AHEC Advisory Board. He currently serves as chair of the Magnolia Coastlands AHEC and secretary of the State Office of Rural Health Advisory Board.

"I am delighted to be selected as the next dean of the Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health,” said Tedders. “Having spent much of my career at Georgia Southern University, I am proud to continue serving an institution with such strong traditions of excellence and a vision to serve rural and underserved communities."