The College of Science, Engineering and Technology (CSET) welcomes alumnus Dr. Timothy Turner as its new chairman of biology.
Turner, who earned his Bachelor of Science degree in biology from JSU in 1981, began his new role July 1, 2015.
“Dr. Turner’s passion is in alignment with our mission to develop students who are forward-looking and learner-centered through intellectually stimulating educational experiences,” said Dr. Richard Aló, dean of CSET. “This will help them reach the highest levels of academic attainment and growth. We are happy to have Dr. Turner join our team.”
Previously, Turner worked for Tuskegee University, where he served six years as deputy director of Research and Training for its National Center for Bioethics in Research and Health Care. He also was program director of the Center for Biomedical Research/Research Centers in Minority Institutions for five years. He was lead principal investigator for Morehouse School of Medicine/Tuskegee University/University of Alabama at Birmingham Comprehensive Cancer Center Partnership for 11 years.
The historically significant National Center for Bioethics was established in 1999 after President Clinton apologized for an untreated 40-year syphilis study by the U.S. Public Health Service on African-American men in Macon County, Ala.
“My desire to serve in this position is simple: I want to give back to the university and department what was given to me,” Turner said. “Jackson State University and its biology department are responsible for building the foundation leading to all of my subsequent career and personal successes in life. In order to build the biology program in terms of curriculum and research, we need to establish and build collaborations and partnerships with a variety of institutions. This will allow us to expand our capacity and capabilities and positively affect our students, faculty, staff and community.”
Turner received a doctorate in endocrinology/tumor biology from the University of California, Berkeley. In addition, he has more than 30 years of field experience and is a distinguished researcher and scholar.
Turner’s wife, Dr. Rita Harvey-Turner, is also a JSU alum. She is chief of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation in the Central Alabama Veterans Health Care System in Tuskegee and Montgomery, Ala.