Dr. Mohammed Forouzesh, Chair of Health Sciences at CSULB, has been named the university’s 2008 Outstanding Professor. Established in 1980, the Outstanding Professor Award is designed to reward and publicly acknowledge outstanding professorial performance.
The award comes one year following Dr. Forouzesh’s most rewarding moment as an educator, when a student’s mother called to thank him for helping her son remain in college and complete his degree. “I have never received a call from a parent before,” recalled Forouzesh, who has served CSULB students since 1987. “She called simply to thank me for encouraging her son toward graduation.”
Forouzesh strives to encourage his students to reach their highest potential, providing them with the skills necessary to change their lives and improve the lives of others. And, it is that commitment to student achievement, coupled with his dedication to giving back to students, the university and the health science field, that earned Forouzesh the university’s 2008 Outstanding Professor Award.
“It is indeed an honor to receive this award, and being nominated for it by my students is an indication that I am making a difference in their lives,” Forouzesh said. “I have been teaching for more than 32 years. I love teaching and enjoy the learning that goes with it.”
Signaling his understanding of the needs of the current generation, Dr. Forouzesh notes that, “In my teaching, I use the community as an experiment and the classroom as the laboratory. I strive to build a bridge between the public health community and students,” he added.
Forouzesh has served as chair of the CSULB Department of Health Sciences for three years, undergraduate program adviser for 11 years, and has been the graduate director for the department for the past 10 years. He strongly encourages students to pursue advanced degrees and is intimately engaged in the student experience outside his classroom. Earlier this year, Dr. Forouzesh proposed the creation of a Health Campus Committee to address wellness policies on campus. He is also recognized for establishing the “Forouzesh Fund,” a personal commitment of $25,000 that provides travel, professional membership and conference fees for health science students.
As a researcher, Dr. Forouzesh focuses in the areas of tobacco, alcohol and other drugs. He has contributed to the tobacco prevention efforts both at the county and state levels. His research has given him the opportunity to work with local government agencies on tobacco prevention, education and policies. He serves on the budget committee for the allocation of $32 million in County Tobacco Master Settlement agreement funds, and for the last seven years, he has been a consultant and external lead evaluator for the Orange County Health Care Agency, Tobacco Free Communities Project.
Forouzesh is a recognized leader locally and nationally in tobacco prevention, education and policies. He also provides expertise in the area of bioterrorism and has collaborated with the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services, Bioterrorism Division and served as a consultant and evaluator for the Mass Small Pox Vaccination Exercise funded by the Office of Homeland Security.
Recently, he was honored by the American Lung Association in Orange County with the Lung Champion Award, which is given to those who have made a significant contribution to helping the community breathe easier in Orange County by preventing lung disease and promoting lung health.
“This award is an affirmation of my efforts as an educator, a researcher and an active member of the health science community,” Forouzesh noted. “I am always committed to improving the lives of young people both in my personal and professional life. “I am in public health, and the mission of public health is to improve the health of the population through social justice, social health policy and self empowerment.
Forouzesh earned his Ph.D. and a master’s degree in public health (MPH) at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. He earned his bachelor’s of science degree at the University of Oregon at Eugene.