For a more complete list of awards and funded projects, please refer to Dr. Telfair's CV

Biography, Disciplines, and Teaching Interests

Dr. Telfair is a Professor and Associate Dean of Public Health Practice and Research and is Karl E Peace Distinguished Chair Public Health at the Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health In Statesboro, GA. As a first generation college student, Dr. Telfair Holds both an MSW and MPH from the University of California at Berkeley and a DrPH from Johns Hopkins University. He has had and has several adjunct and visiting professorships in US and Global Academic Institutions and he is a Fellow in the Royal Society of Public Health. He is Past President of the American Public Health Association.

Dr. Telfair brings over 34 years of experience as a clinician, community-advocate, academic, evaluator project director, researcher, Academic and Research Center director, and academic administrator.  He serves/has served as a member and in leadership roles on numerous Public Health, Education and Scientific working and advisory committees at the state, national and global levels.

He has been a public health faculty member and leader in three schools of public for nearly 28 years – focusing on practiced-based, evidence-driven public health. He has been a faculty member, PI, Co-PI, co-director or director of a number of HRSA, NIH, SAMHSA, foundation and CDC funded training, evaluation and research programs and Centers. 

He is known for his research, teaching, and evidence-based practice in the areas of public health social work, mental health, social epidemiology, cultural and linguistic competency, public health genetics, elimination of health inequities, disparities and systemic poverty, community-based and rural health practice, program evaluation, and policy and multi-cultural/multi-ethnic populations. Presently he is co-Guest Editor of the international journal PLOS ONE’s Health Inequities and Disparities Research Special Collection, he also serves on the on the External Advisory Committee for the University of South Carolina’s Minority and Rural Research Center.

He has experienced firsthand rural and urban poverty, homelessness, the juvenile justice and foster care systems, as we as personal and structural discrimination in many forms. Despite these lived challenges, his lifelong focus has been on how to use them to educate, work with, mentor and support others.

Lastly, Dr. Telfair takes a leader-as-servant approach, believing leadership is a unique and privileged opportunity to serve. As many of you know he best identifies with the quote by Booker T. Washington

"Success is to be measured not so much by the position one has reached in life as by the obstacles which have been overcome while trying to succeed."

Disciplines: Community Health Behavior and Education

Teaching Interests: Community research and health education, advanced program evaluation