Dr. Charles Drum (IOD NH UCEDD) Is Keynote Presenter at Pacific Rim International Conference on Disability and Diversity

June 25, 2014

Dr. Charles E. Drum, Director of the Institute on Disability at the University of New Hampshire, gave the opening keynote presentation at the 30th Annual Pacific Rim International Conference on Disability and Diversity.

In his presentation, Disability and Public Health - Five Years Later, Dr. Drum discussed the continuing evolution of research, policy, and practice related to public health and disability. The presentation's subtitle, Five Years Later, refers to the time that has passed since Drum and colleagues authored Disability and Public Health, the first textbook focusing on the subject area.

In his keynote address, Dr. Drum explored the growth of state-based disability and public health programs, progress in developing and implementing a standardized set of questions that identify "people with disabilities" in population data systems, and the current state of health disparity research. He ended by discussing emerging challenges facing disability and public health.

"The Pacific Rim Conference is one of the most diverse conferences I've attended," explains Dr. Drum. "It was an honor to be invited and to open an international conference that included people with such a broad range of expertise and experience with disability."

Dr. Charles E. Drum is the Director of the Institute on Disability / UCED and a professor of Health Management and Policy at the University of New Hampshire. Dr. Drum received his PhD from the Heller School for Social Policy at Brandeis University, his MPA and JD from the University of Oregon, and completed a postdoctoral research fellowship at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Dr. Drum is a widely regarded expert in disability and health issues, particularly in the areas of health disparities, health care access, and health promotion.

The Institute on Disability at the University of New Hampshire was established in 1987 to provide a coherent university-based focus for the improvement of knowledge, policies, and practices related to the lives of persons with disabilities and their families. Its mission is to promote full access, equal opportunities, and participation for all persons by strengthening communities and advancing policy and systems change, promising practices, education, and research.

The University of New Hampshire, founded in 1866, is a world-class public research university with the feel of a New England liberal arts college. A land, sea, and space-grant university, UNH is the state's flagship public institution, enrolling 12,200 undergraduate and 2,300 graduate students.