Steckler and Eng recognized as Distinguished Fellows, SOPHE’s highest honor

Dr. Geni Eng

Dr. Allan Steckler

Allan B. Steckler, DrPH, and Eugenia (Geni) Eng, DrPH, professors of health behavior and health education at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health, have received the Society for Public Health Education’s Distinguished Fellow Award for significant and lasting contributions to SOPHE and to the profession of health education.

The awards, which are the Society’s highest honor, will be presented at the organization’s annual meeting in Philadelphia on Nov. 7.

Steckler received master’s and doctoral degrees in public health from the University of California at Los Angeles and served in the Peace Corps in Thailand before joining what was then UNC’s Department of Health Education as a lecturer in 1976. He became associate professor and deputy chair in 1981 and professor in 1989.

A group of colleagues, led by John Allegrante, PhD, professor and chair of the Department of Health and Behavior Studies at Columbia University’s Teachers College, contributed to a nomination letter lauding Steckler’s contributions to the field of health education and his dedicated service to the Society.

“His teaching and mentoring and scholarly contributions to the profession of health education are among some of the most original and in some of the most pressing areas of emerging public health concern, and his commitment to SOPHE has been both tireless and of the highest quality,” Allegrante wrote.

Jo Anne Earp, ScD, professor and chair of the Department of Health Behavior and Health Education at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health, also nominated Steckler.

“Allan is recognized as a national leader in health behavior and health education,” Earp said. “He is a well-regarded scholar, whose work has helped advance the field on multiple fronts; an outstanding mentor, whose thoughtful guidance and support have helped launch the careers of many researchers and practitioners; and a talented leader whose service ‘close to home’ here at UNC, as well as on national and international levels, has helped shape the profession.”

Eng received master’s and doctoral degrees in public health from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and served in the Peace Corps in Togo before joining the department as a research associate (1978) and instructor (1981). She became a professor in 2000.

“I am so very, very fortunate to be part of a network of such stellar colleagues in our field and especially here at UNC HBHE,” Eng said. She described being particularly proud to receive the award with Steckler, who has been her colleague and adviser since she entered the UNC master’s program in 1976. “Allan has deserved this award for many years,” she said.

One of Eng’s nominators, Barbara Israel, DrPH, professor in the Department of Health Behavior and Health Education at The University of Michigan School of Public Health, called Eng one of “the key leaders in the field, contributing her expertise in numerous areas, including the conceptualization and application of lay health advisor models, the conceptualization and measurement of community competence, the development and implementation of university-community models of engaged scholarship, and the application of community-based participatory research approaches to understanding and addressing racism and health disparities.”

Meredith Minkler, DrPH, professor and director of the Department of Health and Social Behavior in the University of California at Berkeley School of Public Health, also praised Eng in a nomination letter.

“Geni’s enduring contributions include the exceptional quality of her teaching and mentoring, which has produced many of the top scholars in health education,” Minkler said. “Her creativity is demonstrated in her theory-driven community intervention studies that set a very high bar for the field. And the millions of dollars in grant awards from NIH, CDC and numerous other federal and philanthropic organizations, together with the frequency with which she is invited to serve as a major speaker, consultant and trainer, speak well to the high regard in which she is held by her colleagues nationally and internationally.”

SOPHE is an independent, international professional association made up of health education professionals and students. The Society promotes healthy behaviors, healthy communities and healthy environments through its membership, its network of local chapters and its numerous partnerships with other organizations.

UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health contact: Ramona DuBose, director of communications, (919) 966-7467 or ramona_dubose@unc.edu.