Beloved and renowned teacher, David Kleinbaum retires

After 24 years at Rollins, award-winning epidemiology professor Dr. David Kleinbaum is heading into retirement and taking his loud shirts with him.

“David is renowned all over the world for his effective teaching of advanced epidemiology,” says Dean James W. Curran. “He is an articulate spokesperson who can make people understand difficult concepts and enjoy doing so. Thousands of students have benefited from his teaching and from his books.”

For Kleinbaum, active learning is at the heart of effective teaching. He embraced technological advancements in the classroom, wore Hawaiian shirts, and peppered lectures with his signature brand of dry humor.

An internationally recognized teacher, Kleinbaum has won several of the most prestigious awards available to public health educators, including the very first Pfizer/ASPPH National Award for Teaching Excellence in 2005.

Kleinbaum has also published several textbooks and—in his proudest achievement—ActivEpi. The latter incorporated decades of his introductory epidemiology course materials into an interactive CD-ROM format. In 2015, to update the tool with modern technology, Kleinbaum adapted the product for the web, and it’s now available for free download as ActivEpi Web. To date, 8,000 users from more than 100 countries have signed up for the free website.

For more about Kleinbaum’s career, go to emry.link/kleinbaum. —Kelly Jordan

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"Rollins epidemiologist David Kleinbaum retires" (Press release, 10/10/17)

"Professor creates free, online, interactive epidemiology lessons" (Emory Report, 12/15/15)

"Public health professor has a gift for teaching" (Public Health, Fall 2013)