Prof. Telfair joined Georgia Southern University in 2013 and retired in 2024.

— Biography from the 2024 Spring Commencement program —

As a first-generation college student, Dr. Telfair received his BA in Applied Psychology from Northridge State University (1979), both his MSW in Social Work (1982) and MPH in Public Health (1983) degrees are from the University of California at Berkeley, and his DrPH in Public Health from Johns Hopkins University (1992). He also completed a Postdoctoral degree in Social-Behavioral Research from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1992. Arriving as a full professor in the Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health (JPHCOPH) in 2013, Dr. Telfair served as chair of the Department of Community Health Behavior and Education (2013 - 2018) and as the Associate Dean of Practice and Research (2018 to 2024). Dr. Telfair also held the Karl E. Peace/Jiann-Ping Hsu Endowed Eminent Scholar Chair in Public Health in the college from 2013 until his retirement. Dr. Telfair brought over 40 years of experience as a clinician, community-advocate, academic, project evaluator and director, researcher, Academic and Research Center director, and academic administrator to his role at Georgia Southern University. He has served as a member on and in leadership roles of numerous Public Health, Education and Scientific working and advisory committees at the state, national and global levels. Dr. Telfair 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 multicultural/multi-ethnic populations. He is a passionate collaborator with and advocate for community-based agencies and programs aimed at making a difference locally. Throughout his career, he has served in several academic management and administrative roles at the department, School/College and university levels. Lastly, Dr. Telfair took a leader-as-servant approach, believing leadership is a unique and privileged opportunity to serve. He has experienced firsthand rural and urban poverty, homelessness, the juvenile justice and foster care systems, as well as personal and structural discrimination in many forms. Despite these lived challenges, his lifelong focus has been on how to use these experiences to educate, work with, mentor and support others. For these and many other distinguished accomplishments, Dr. Joseph Telfair is deserving of the title of Professor Emeritus of Community Health Education and Behavior.*