Richman earns Bate Professorship selection

The East Carolina University College of Health and Human Performance celebrates the selection of Dr. Alice Richman, professor of health education and promotion and a respected leader in the field of public health, for the esteemed Harold H. Bate Professorship. This honor recognizes Richman’s productivity in research, teaching and service, as well as her capacity to make a positive impact through scholarly activities.

Dr. Alice Richman, left, standing with Mariana Puente-Herrera, an HHP inaugural poster award winner.

Richman began her career at ECU in 2010 and has generated more than $6 million in external funding to support her research agenda. She is director of the Rural Health Disparities Lab with a research focus in cancer health disparities and works to increase access to care for medically underserved populations, many of which reside in eastern North Carolina. She regularly engages in impactful interdisciplinary, community-based research.

For example, Richman serves as director of the Maternal and Child Health Scholars, Training, and Enrichment Program, a 5-year training grant awarded from the Health Resources and Services Administration. The purpose of this multi-ECU department/school and multi-university project is to inspire the interest of first-generation, rural and underrepresented undergraduate students in maternal and child health to increase their representation in the next generation of MCH professionals. Another large interdisciplinary project Richman co-leads is funded by the NC State Office of Digital Equity and Literacy and aims to improve access to digital technology, resources and digital literacy and skills training across 18 counties in ENC. This work engages a network of community health workers to deliver skills training to community members as well as build lending library programs in public libraries and deploy technology (iPads, hotspots with internet) to communities in need.

Richman’s work has been published in national and international scholarly journals, and she supports the mentoring process often through involving students and colleagues to co-present research. As part of the Harold H. Bate Professorship, Richman will continue to support student research and mentor junior faculty in research. She hopes to bring professionals, external to ECU, to campus to share their research experiences as well as raise the level of awareness of HHP faculty.  She also plans to hold a session for faculty to help them navigate grant procurement in today’s funding environment. Her goal is that the Harold H. Bate Professorship will not only promote her research agenda, but also provide benefit for faculty, students and the communities that ECU serves.