MAY 5, 2005 | Gov. Mike Huckabee has named Paul Halverson, Dr. P.H., professor and chairman of the Department of Health Policy and Management

in the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) College of Public Health, as interim director of the state Department of Health.

Halverson replaces Fay Boozman, M.D., who was killed March 19 in an accident on his Benton County farm.

Halverson, 46, joined the UAMS Fay W. Boozman College of Public Health last June. Before moving to Arkansas, he served almost seven years on the senior scientific staff at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta.

At the CDC, Halverson was appointed to the Silvio Conte Senior Biomedical Research Service, a congressionally designated classification within the Department of Health and Human Services for the nation's top biomedical research scientists. He was the director of the division of public health systems development and research. He had responsibility for strengthening the effectiveness of public health systems throughout the United States.

"Dr. Halverson has a nationwide reputation in the area of public health," Huckabee said. "He has strong leadership abilities and is just the type of person we need leading the Health Department as we implement our Healthy Arkansas initiative. We're fortunate to have a man of his abilities in Arkansas as we seek to be on the cutting edge of public health policy."

While in Atlanta, Halverson led the development and implementation of the National Public Health Performance Standards Program, the deployment of the National Health Alert Network and the advancement of the National Public Health Leadership Institute. He also helped develop a number of leadership and management education programs.

Halverson was appointed by the World Health Organization as the director of the WHO Collaborating Center in Public Health Practice at the CDC. In that role, he provided support globally for the advancement of public health systems.

Halverson received his doctorate in public health from the University

of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and his master's degree in health services administration from Arizona State University. He has received numerous honors in the area of public health.

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Arkansas Department of Health: http://www.healthyarkansas.com/