Renowned global health expert joins SMU faculty
Global health researcher Eric G. Bing joins SMU faculty as a professor in the Simmons School.
At SMU Bing has been named a professor of global health in the Applied Physiology and Wellness Department in the Annette Caldwell Simmons School of Education and Human Development and in the Department of Anthropology in Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences. He remains the senior fellow and director of global health at the Bush Institute.
Under the SMU agreement with the Bush Foundation, Bush Institute fellows can receive concurrent academic appointments at SMU following review and approval by the appropriate academic departments.
“Dr. Bing’s faculty appointment represents one of the many benefits of hosting the Bush Presidential Center at SMU,” said SMU President R. Gerald Turner. “The Center will bring us access to global experts who will enhance teaching and research at SMU through concurrent appointments with the Bush Institute. These are scholars with whom we otherwise would not have a relationship but who will now have productive interactions and collaborations with existing faculty, as well as students.”
As director of global health at the Bush Institute since 2010, Bing has initiated worldwide health initiatives, including serving as co-leader of the institute’s Pink Ribbon Red Ribbon partnership, an $85 million public-private program designed to combat cervical and breast cancer in Africa and Latin America.
“It would be difficult to exaggerate the value that Dr. Bing brings to SMU,” said SMU Provost Paul Ludden. “In his career he has directed or co-directed five global health research centers and received more than $140 million in grant support. His work in combating the spread of AIDS is a model for future Africa-United States projects.”
Before joining the Bush Institute, Bing was an endowed professor of global health for nearly 20 years at the Charles Drew University of Medicine and Science in Los Angeles. He has developed and managed global health programs in Africa, Central America and the Caribbean, including HIV prevention, care and treatment programs in Rwanda, Angola, Nigeria, Namibia, Belize and Jamaica. For his efforts he was awarded the Alfred Haynes International Health Leadership Award in 2002, named in 2006 a Paul G. Rogers International Health Research Ambassador from Research! America and named 2010 Professor of the Year at Charles Drew University.
"We are extremely pleased that Dr. Bing has joined the SMU faculty in addition to his work at the Bush Institute," said James K. Glassman, executive director of the George W. Bush Institute. "It is the latest example of the excellent cooperation between our two institutions."
“It’s an honor to join the SMU faculty,” said Bing. “Across campus, in every college, there is an abundance of talent and resources, supported by strong leadership at all levels. SMU is an ideal place to build effective and productive partnerships that not only cross the campus, but the world.”
Bing has published more than 90 articles and abstracts. He received his medical degree from Harvard University School of Medicine, a Master’s of Public Health and a PhD in Epidemiology from UCLA, and an MBA from the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University. His book, Pharmacy on a Bicycle: Innovative Solutions in Global Health and Poverty, is scheduled to be released in May 2013.
SMU is a nationally ranked private university in Dallas founded 100 years ago. Today, SMU enrolls nearly 11,000 students who benefit from the academic opportunities and international reach of seven degree-granting schools.
Media Contact:
Nancy George
SMU News & Communications
214-768-7674
ngeorge@smu.edu
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