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Dr. Lisa Klesges

Klesges has been serving as professor and director of the School since August 2008. “I’m delighted and honored to be named interim dean of the School of Public Health at the U of M,” she said. “I look forward to working collaboratively with the outstanding and gifted faculty, staff, students, and alumni.”

Klesges is a Fellow with the Society of Behavioral Medicine and a prolific researcher with a special interest in childhood obesity. She is an active member of the Society of Behavioral Medicine and the North American Association for the Study of Obesity (Epidemiology Section), and serves on the National Institutes of Health’s strategic planning task force and the American Association for Cancer Research Task Force on Behavioral Science and Cancer.

“Dr. Klesges has an impressive track record as an accomplished educator, leader and researcher,” said U of M Provost Ralph Faudree. “We are delighted that she is willing to serve as the interim dean while the search for a permanent dean is unfolding. Dr. Klesges has done an outstanding job as director of our new School of Public Health, positioning it for excellence and significant impact.”

Klesges earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology and religion from Concordia College in Moorhead, Minn., a master’s degree in psychology/research methods from the University of Memphis, and a Ph.D. in epidemiology/behavioral epidemiology from the University of Minnesota School of Public Health.