The Tennessee Public Health Association has bestowed a high honor on an MTSU professor.

Dr. Jo Edwards

Dr. Martha Jo Edwards, holder of the Adams Chair of Excellence in Health Care Services and director of MTSU’s Center for Health and Human Services, received the THPA’s 2013 Visionary Award on April 19.

The honor recognizes community partners in each of three grand divisions of the state. Those people have worked  to extend the borders and scope of traditional public health through their visionary talents and innovative efforts.

Under Edwards’ direction, the Center for Health and Human Services has executed many grant-funded projects and contracts focusing on health care workforce development and improving the health of Tennesseans. These contracts have totaled more than $5 million since 1993.

Edwards serves on the Tennessee Department of Education Advisory Board for Health Science Education and the Tennessee Obesity Task Force and serves as a consultant to the Tennessee Institute of Public Health.

For more information, contact Cindy Chafin at 615-898-5493 or cynthia.chafin@mtsu.edu.

— Gina K. Logue (gina.logue@mtsu.edu)