News

Dr. Lawrence Wallack, director of Portland State University's School of Community Health has been named dean of the College of Urban and Public Affairs, replacing Nohad A. Toulan, founding dean of the College. Wallack will begin July 1, 2004.

"Dr. Wallack brings broad-based experience, energy and creativity to this position. These qualities will enable him and the faculty to build upon the strong legacy of retiring dean, Nohad Toulan, as they take the College to the next level of distinction," said PSU Provost Mary Kay Tetreault. "Engagement with the community will continue to be an integral part of the College of Urban and Public Affair's excellence."

Wallack came to Portland State in 1999 from the University of California at Berkeley where he was on faculty for 17 years. The year following his arrival at PSU, he was named one of the first recipients of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Innovators Combating Substance Abuse awards, which recognize and reward individuals who have made substantial and innovative contributions to the field of substance abuse.

Wallack was founding director of the Berkeley Media Studies Group and is a founding senior fellow of The Rockridge Institute. Wallack has helped develop a systems-oriented vision rooted in progressive values and principles to advance public health and social goals. Through community organizing, constituency building and strategic planning, Wallack uses media advocacy to advance social change.

Wallack is the principal author of two widely used books about media advocacy and currently sits on the editorial boards of the Journal of Health Communication, Journal of Public Health Policy and International Quarterly of Community Health Education. In addition, he was on the editorial board of the Berkeley Wellness Letter for seven years.

Wallack recently served on the Governor's Task Force on the Alcohol Beverage Industry (Oregon), the Academic Advisory Council of the National Campaign Against Youth Violence and the Evaluation Technical Advisory Committee of the Oregon Tobacco Prevention and Education Program. He also serves on the boards of several national organizations.

Since coming to Portland State, Wallack has served on two committees of the prestigious National Institute of Medicine - the Committee on the Consequences of Uninsurance and the Committee on Health Communication for the 21st Century: Improving the Health of Diverse Populations.

"Portland is a great city and Portland State is a great university that makes a unique and important contribution to the city and the region. I look forward to building on and expanding the excellent work of the College of Urban and Public Affairs so that we can have an even larger impact," said Wallack.

Wallack holds a B.A. in Urban Studies from Franklin & Marshall College (Lancaster, PA); a M.S. in Alcohol Studies from the University of Arizona; and a M.P.H. in Behavioral Sciences and a Dr.P.H. in Health Education from the University of California at Berkeley. Wallack and his wife, Linda Nettekoven, reside in inner Southeast Portland. Nettekoven received a "Spirit of Portland" award in 2003 for her work on social, economic and health issues in Southeast Portland.

A high-resolution photograph can be downloaded at http://www.marketing.pdx.edu/newsreleases/Larry_Wallack.jpg; a full vita is available at http://web.pdx.edu/~healthed/wallackvita.htm.

The College of Urban and Public Affairs at Portland State University is comprised of three schools - the School of Community Health, the Mark O. Hatfield School of Government and the School of Urban Studies and Planning. It also includes eleven public service and research centers and institutes, including the Institute on Aging, the Institute of Portland Metropolitan Studies, the Center for Public Health Studies, the Center for Population Research and Census, the Center for Transportation Studies, the Institute for Nonprofit Management and the Executive Leadership Institute. Today, the College offers the only Ph.D. programs in Urban Studies, Regional Science, and Public Administration and Policy between Berkeley and Seattle.

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Release Number: 04-012