Department Chair Robert Friedman Fills Interim Dean Position

University of South Florida Provost Renu Khator has appointed Robert Friedman, Chair, Department of Child and Family Studies (CFS), as interim dean of the Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute (FMHI). Dr. Friedman will fill the vacancy left by Dean David Shern, who leaves in August to serve as president of the National Mental Health Association. With many years of experience in mental health policy and services research, Shern was recruited to USF 11 years ago and has administered tremendous change during his tenure at FMHI.

The Institute, recognized as a national leader and among the largest behavioral health services research centers in the U. S., works to improve the lives of people with mental, addictive, and developmental disorders through research, training, and education. The Institute consists of three academic departments, as well as a research library renowned for its resources on mental health research, policy, and treatment.

“ I am excited about taking what we have learned here together,” said Dr. Friedman in his announcement to CFS staff, “and applying it throughout FMHI, while also learning from the good work within other FMHI departments.”

In addition to his role as Department Chair, Dr. Friedman has served as Director of the Research and Training Center for Children's Mental Health since 1984. He is a leading researcher, author, policy analyst, and consultant on issues such as the development and evaluation of community-based systems of care, prevalence of emotional disorders in children, new developments in service delivery, and the relationship between the mental health system and other systems. He has been instrumental in developing the USF graduate certificate in Planning, Evaluation, and Accountability and, in partnership with the College of Public Health, has built a program to offer a concentration in Behavioral Health at the master’s and doctoral levels.

Dr. Friedman has served on many national committees including the Planning Board for the Surgeon General's Report on Mental Health, has chaired task forces and review panels for the federal government, and has provided Congressional testimony on several occasions. He served as Principal Author for the Children's Workgroup report of the Florida Commission on Mental Health and Substance Abuse in 2000, gave expert testimony to the President's New Freedom Commission on Mental Health in 2002, and helped author its Children's Sub-Committee report. Dr. Friedman is a Fellow of the Division of Children, Youth, and Families of the American Psychological Association, and received the Nicholas Hobbs award from this division in 2005 for contributions to policy and advocacy for children. He
has also received two professorial excellence awards at USF (1993 & 2002).

“ I have loved serving as Department Chair, and am tremendously proud of our staff, and all of the tremendous work that they do,” said Friedman.

One of his first duties will be to select an Interim Chair for CFS.