Robert J. Blendon is an American academic who is the Richard L. Menschel Professor of Public Health and Professor of Health Policy and Political Analysis, Emeritus and Acting Director for the Division of Policy Translation and Leadership Development at the

Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health The Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health is the public health school of Harvard University, located in the Longwood Medical Area of Boston, Massachusetts. The school grew out of the Harvard-MIT School for Health Officers, the nation's first ...

. He previousy held appointments as a Professor of Health Policy and Political Analysis at the

and the

Harvard Kennedy School of Government The Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), officially the John F. Kennedy School of Government, is the public policy school, school of public policy and government of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school offers master's degrees in p ...

. Hhe directs the Harvard Opinion Research Program and co-directs the

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) is an American philanthropic organization. It is the largest one focused solely on health. Based in Princeton, New Jersey, the foundation focuses on access to health care, public health, health equity, ...

project on understanding Americans’ Health Agenda. Previously, he co-directed a polling series with ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' and

Kaiser Family Foundation KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation), also known as The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, is an American non-profit organization, headquartered in San Francisco, California. It prefers KFF since its legal name can cause confusion as it is no longer a ...

. Blendon co-directed a survey project for the ''

Minneapolis Star Tribune The ''Star Tribune'' is the largest newspaper in Minnesota. It originated as the ''Minneapolis Tribune'' in 1867 and the competing ''Minneapolis Daily Star'' in 1920. During the 1930s and 1940s, Minneapolis's competing newspapers were consolida ...

'' on health care that received the

National Press Club Organizations A press club is an organization for journalists and others professionally engaged in the production and dissemination of news. A press club whose membership is defined by the press of a given country may be known as a National Press ...

’s 1998 Award for Consumer Journalism. He also co-directed a project for

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other n ...

and the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation on American attitudes toward domestic policy. The series was cited by the ''

National Journal ''National Journal'' is an advisory services company based in Washington, D.C., offering services in government affairs, advocacy communications, stakeholder mapping, and policy brands research for government and business leaders. It publishes da ...

'' as setting a new standard for use of public opinion surveys in broadcast journalism. In 2008,Blendon received the Warren J. Mitofsky Award for Excellence in Public Opinion Research from the Board of Directors of the

Roper Center for Public Opinion Research __NOTOC__ The Roper Center for Public Opinion Research at Cornell University is the world's oldest archive of social science data and the largest specializing in data from public opinion surveys. It's collection includes over 24,000 datasets and ...

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

Education

Blendon is a graduate of

Marietta College Marietta College (MC) is a private liberal arts college in Marietta, Ohio. It offers more than 50 undergraduate majors across the arts, sciences, and engineering, as well as Physician Assistant, Psychology, Clinical Mental Health Counseling, an ...

and of the School of Business at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...

, with a Masters in Business Administration. In addition, he holds a Doctoral degree from the School of Public Health of

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hem ...

, where his principal attention was directed toward health policy.

Career

Blendon was senior vice-president at the

. In addition, he has served as a senior faculty member for the

U.S. Conference of Mayors The United States Conference of Mayors (USCM) is the official non-partisan organization of cities with populations of 30,000 or more. The cities are each represented by their mayors or other chief elected officials. The organization was founded i ...

, the

National Governors' Association The National Governance Association (NGA), founded as the National Governors' Association, is a representative body for school governors and trustees of state-funded schools in England. It was formed in February 2006 via the merger of two predec ...

, and the U.S. Congress Committee on Ways and Means. Between 1987 and 1996, Blendon served as Chairman of the Department of Health Policy and Management at the

and as Deputy Director of the Harvard University Division of Health Policy Research and Education. Blendon teaches a course on Political Strategy in U.S. Health Policy at the

and the

. He also directs the Political Analysis track in the University’s Ph.D. Program in Health Policy.

Affiliations and awards

Blendon is a member of the

Institute of Medicine The National Academy of Medicine (NAM), formerly called the Institute of Medicine (IoM) until 2015, is an American nonprofit, non-governmental organization. The National Academy of Medicine is a part of the National Academies of Sciences, E ...

, of the

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...

and of the

Council on Foreign Relations The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is an American think tank A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, mi ...

, a former member of the advisory board to the Director of the

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is the national public health agency of the United States. It is a United States federal agency, under the Department of Health and Human Services, and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgi ...

, and a former member of the editorial board of the ''

Journal of the American Medical Association ''The Journal of the American Medical Association'' (''JAMA'') is a peer-reviewed medical journal published 48 times a year by the American Medical Association. It publishes original research, reviews, and editorials covering all aspects of bio ...

''. He is also a Past President of the Association of Health Services Research and winner of their Distinguished Investigator Award. He is also a recipient of the Baxter Award for lifetime achievement in the health services research field. He has also received the John M. Eisenberg Excellence in Mentorship Award from the

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ; pronounced "ark" by initiates and often "A-H-R-Q" by the public) is one of twelve agencies within the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The agency is headquartered i ...

(AHRQ) and the Mendelsohn award from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

. In 2008, he was the recipient of the Warren J. Mitofsky Award for Excellence in Public Opinion Research given by the Roper Center.

Personal life

Blendon is married to Marie McCormick, a Professor Emerita at the

in Boston, Massachusetts, and they live in

Waban, Massachusetts Waban is one of the thirteen List of villages in Newton, Massachusetts, villages within the city of Newton, Massachusetts, Newton in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. Geography and history Waban ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Blendon, Robert Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Harvard Kennedy School faculty Johns Hopkins University alumni Marietta College alumni People from Ohio People from Newton, Massachusetts Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health faculty University of Chicago alumni