The School of Kinesiology and the Health Management Research Center (HMRC) have announced that renowned health promotion leader Michael O’Donnell was named the new director of the HMRC, effective Oct. 15.
O’Donnell has a distinguished record in the field of health promotion, and is a widely respected champion for the integration of health promotion into every aspect of society. His expertise combined with the HMRC’s long history of innovative research, is an ideal combination to continue to enhance the health and vitality of individuals, worksites and communities worldwide.
O’Donnell
“We are delighted to have Dr. O’Donnell join us,” said Dean Ron Zernicke. “The School of Kinesiology’s Health Management Research Center is a vibrant, recognized leader in the field, and Dr. O’Donnell has outstanding vision, enthusiasm, and national/international reputation to lead the HMRC to new heights of prominence.”
O’Donnell’s first passion is workplace health promotion. He has helped more than 100 employers, health plans, governments, and foundations develop and enhance their health promotion programs, and has a decade of experience as the internal leader of employee health promotion programs in three large organizations. He is the co-author of Health Promotion in the Workplace, the first and most widely read reference text in the field, released in 1984. The 4th edition is in development and will be released in early 2014.
In 1986, O’Donnell launched the American Journal of Health Promotion, the first peer reviewed journal devoted to the science of lifestyle change, with the goal of raising the standard of the science, narrowing the gap between science and practice and integrating the many disciplines involved in the field.
In 2000, recognizing the need to integrate health promotion into national policy, O’Donnell founded Health Promotion Advocates, a nonprofit grass roots policy group. During the last 12 years, Health Promotion Advocates grew to more than 2,000 members who were instrumental in educating members of Congress and the White House on the health and financial benefits of health promotion—primarily focused on conceiving, introducing and passing legislation.
O’Donnell has presented more than 260 keynotes and workshops on six continents, authored more than 190 articles, columns and book chapters, received 13 national awards, served in leadership capacities in three hospital systems, and on the faculty of three universities. He earned a Ph.D. in health behavior from U-M, an M.B.A. in general management and an M.P.H. in hospital management, both from the University of California, Berkeley, and a Bachelor of Arts in psychobiology from Oberlin College.
“One of the distinguishing strengths of the HMRC has been in its ability to maintain a strong academic commitment while collaborating with public and private sector entities to combine our research interests with their needs to create and maintain healthy and high performing workplaces and workforces,” said Professor Dee Edington, founder and previous director of the HMRC. “I am certain Michael is the right person to carry this mission forward into this second decade of the 21st century.”
