Kenneth J. Simon, PhD

Teaches courses in Social and Behavioral Theory.

Associate Professor

Organization:

West Virginia University School of Public Health

Department:

Social and Behavioral Sciences

Classification:

Faculty

Dr. Ken Simon, Associate Professor of the Department of Social and Behavioral Science, received his doctorate from Columbia University in 1972 in Community Health Education. His master degree was a joint program at Columbia University with Teachers College and the School of Public Health. He taught at Columbia University for five years before joining the West Virginia University faculty in 1979.

Dr. Simon grew up in Brooklyn, New York and lived in New York city and other parts of New York for his first 30 years. He has led a number of very large, highly funded, community based studies that involved behavioral science theories in trying to assist populations in changing behavior. He has been the recipient of over 10 million dollars in a variety of federal grants including two R01’s. He secured funding and was the founding director and principal investigator of the Prevention Research Center, at WVU. This is an important part of a network of CDC funded prevention centers. At the time this center was created, it was one of twelve nationally.

Over the last decade, Dr. Simon’s research has been largely in support of Dr. Bill Reger-Nash’s important population based work in getting communities to change their behavior through marketing research and other activities.