Professor in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources at Michigan State University (MSU) and on the AARP National Board of Directors
Dr. George T. Rowan is a professor in the Department Community Agriculture, Recreation and Resource Studies in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources at Michigan State University (MSU). He teaches courses on research process, community development, and grantwriting and fund development. From 1993 to 2000 he taught a course on “Human Growth and Behavior” to first year medical students in the College of Human Medicine at MSU.
Dr. Rowan was formerly director of the David Walker Research Institute in the College of Human Medicine. The Institute’s mission was to conduct research on health and health-related issues that impact policy development directly affecting the lives of African American males and their families. His research focus is on emotional and behavior problems of African American youth ages four to eighteen. He is co-author of a book on Sudden Cardiac Disease. SCD, as it is commonly called, causes apparently healthy young people to die. He also conducts research projects on prostate cancer issues in Michigan and New York.
He previously served as co-chair of the Michigan Department of Public Health Statewide Steering Committee for the African American Male Health Initiative. He is a member of the Ingham Regional Medical Center Prostate Cancer Awareness Committee and is chairperson of the Ingham County Board of Health. He was formerly a scholar in the Michigan Community Health Leadership Institute. In October 2002 he was selected as state president of Michigan AARP and in 2006 he was appointed to the AARP National Board of Directors.
In his role as chairperson of the Ingham County Board of Health he has assisted with strategic planning issues and is widely known for developing plans that incorporate long range proactive planning techniques while simultaneously addressing reactive issues that affect organizations.
He served as president of the Black Faculty Staff and Administrators Association at MSU and was past president of the National Council of African American Men which is based in Washington, DC. From 1997-2000 Dr. Rowan served as chief spokesperson for the Council of Racial Ethnic Minorities (COREM), which is comprised of the four major ethnic groups on the MSU campus.
Among awards received are the IVY Service Award for Lifetime Achievement based on longstanding and diligent work in health; Service Award, Western Michigan Regional Health Committee; Outstanding Mentor Award – Michigan State University; and Peace Corps Black Educator of the in Michigan and Ohio.
His motto is “There is nothing so unequal as the equal treatment of unequal individuals.”
