John Ehiri receives U of A Distinguished Outreach Award

John Ehiri, PhD, MPH, MSc, professor and vice dean for academic and faculty affairs at the University of Arizona Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, received a University Distinguished Outreach Faculty Award for 2025.

The honor recognizes outstanding faculty members whose scholarship-based outreach to the state, nation and the world has demonstrated sustained excellence in the university’s outreach mission. The U of A senior vice president for academic affairs and provost sponsor the award.

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Ehiri  is one of 27 faculty members and mentors who were recognized with distinguished faculty awards this year. His research and teaching focus on the social and behavioral aspects of public health, specifically on global maternal, child and adolescent health.

Ehiri said he was humbled and honored to receive the award, which he said “affirms the value of sustained, community-centered work and acknowledges the collective efforts of my colleagues, students and partners across Arizona and worldwide.”

He said the award is one he shares with the entire Zuckerman College of Public Health community. 

“The recognition is not just a personal milestone; it celebrates the power of collaborative outreach to transform lives and build healthier, more equitable communities,” he said. “I am most grateful to my colleagues at the Zuckerman College of Public Health and the University of Arizona for fostering an environment that encourages and celebrates outreach.”

Ehiri more than deserves the award, said Iman Hakim, MD, PhD, MPH, dean of the Zuckerman College of Public Health.

“Dr. Ehiri has done so much to promote public health programs and practice here in Arizona and internationally,” she said. “We are very fortunate to have John in the college. He’s an outstanding leader who collaborates with both colleagues and communities in a focused, intentional way that improves health for all of us. I’m so proud that he has received this Distinguished Outreach Faculty award.”

Ehiri, who joined the U of A in 2009, said one reason he came to Tucson from a tenured position at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Public Health was the strong commitment to outreach through community engagement.