Jack Barnette, Ph.D., joins the University of Louisville School of Public Health & Information Sciences (SPHIS) as the new associate dean of academic affairs and professor of bioinformatics and biostatistics.

“Jack will help us make revisions and develop new curricular plans,” said Craig Blakely, Ph.D., MPH, dean and professor of the UofL School of Public Health & Information Sciences. “This may take on larger ramifications as the Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health and our accrediting entity, Council on Education for Public Health, consider a revamp of Master of Public Health competencies.”

In addition, Barnette is charged with assisting the Department of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics to establish a web-based master of science degree in biostatistics. This will be SPHIS’s first on-line degree.

Barnette began his teaching career at The Ohio State in 1970, and since

then has taught biostatistics and bioinformatics at various institutions, most recently as a professor at the University of Colorado. He also has held several administrative positions, including associate dean for education and student affairs at the University of Iowa from 1999-2004, senior associate dean for academic affairs at the University of Alabama at Birmingham from 2004-2007, and associate dean for academic and student affairs at the University of Colorado from 2008-2012.

He’s been part of multiple nationally-funded research projects, including a five-year $42 million National Institutes of Health award to build interdisciplinary research teams through the UAB Center for Clinical Translational Science. He has worked as an evaluator for a Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) funded project designed to increase Alabama’s Bachelor of Science in Nursing prepared registered nurse workforce by providing educational opportunities for individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds.

His research also has sought to evaluate Cuban public health care systems. As a result of this work, he was honored to be part of the American Public Health Association (APHA) delegation to Cuba in 2013.

Over the course of his career, Barnette has served on the editorial board of eight academic journals, including Educational and Psychological Measurement, Journal of Modern Applied Statistical Methods, and Educational Technology Research and Development.

He is a member of the APHA, American Statistical Association, American Psychological Association, National Council on Measurement in Education, American Educational Research Association, and American Evaluation Association.

Among his honors are the University of Colorado Chancellor’s Teaching Recognition Award in 2010, and the APHA Statistics Section Award for Contributions to Public Health Academe in 2009. He was inducted into the Association of Schools of Public Health/Pfizer Public Health Academy of Distinguished Teachers in 2008 and inducted into the Delta Omega as a public health honorary in 2009.

Barnette received his Ph.D. in Educational Research, Development and Evaluation from The Ohio State University.