Frances Stillman, Ed.D., International Authority on Efforts to Reduce use of Tobacco, is Named Senior Fellow at NORC at the University of Chicago
Bethesda, MD—Frances Stillman, Ed.D., internationally known for her work to reduce the use of tobacco, in particularly in designing, implementing and evaluating large-scale behavioral and environmental change projects has been named a Senior Fellow at NORC at the University of Chicago where she will join the independent research organization’s Department of Substance Abuse, Mental Health, and Criminal Justice Studies.)
Dr. Stillman, a clinical psychologist with more than 28 years of experience in smoking cessation and tobacco control efforts, is also an Associate Professor in the Department of Health, Behavior and Society at The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public, with secondary appointments in the school’s Departments of Epidemiology and Oncology.
I am very pleased to join NORC as a Senior Fellow,” said Dr. Stillman. “I have collaborated with NORC researchers in the past and have great respect for them and the high quality of their research. There is a great deal yet to be done in efforts to reduce the use of tobacco and tobacco products in this nation and around the world. This appointment will allow me to help advance that work.”
Dr. Stillman directed the evaluation of the largest federally funded tobacco control effort in the U.S., “The American Stop Smoking Intervention Study (ASSIST),” was a large-scale, multi-site demonstration project (Phase V) designed to reduce smoking prevalence through the development and implementation of a comprehensive set of smoking prevention and control interventions. She oversaw the development of the conceptual model for this complex and multi-facet initiative and was responsible of developing new measures of capacity and policy development that were essential in being able to asses ASSIST’s influence on reducing smoking prevalence and changing tobacco consumption. This evaluation effort continues to serve as a model for public health interventions whose components are diffused throughout an entire population.
Dr. Stillman has extensive experience with health disparity issues, especially working with inner city, minority communities. Her work to promote smoking cessation through African American churches, titled “Health, Body, and Soul,” was adopted for use in African American churches nationwide. Through her work on Project BLESS( Baltimore Leading Everyone to be Safe an Smoke-free), she was directly responsible for the first citywide restriction on outdoor tobacco and alcohol advertising in Baltimore. More recently she provided research data to promote increasing the price of little cigars in Baltimore and Maryland. She also has published on single cigarette sales (loosies) in Baltimore, which the New York Times highlighted in an article “The Smoking Scourge Among Urban Blacks”.
She was Co-Director of the Institute for Global Tobacco Control at the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health. She started the first course in tobacco control in the US and was responsible for developing a leadership program and a certificate program in tobacco control. She has also conducted training and research efforts in many countries, including Armenia, Bangladesh, Brazil, Cambodia, China, Egypt, India, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Thailand, Turkey, and Vietnam. A current project includes an assessment of tobacco control policies in airports in Europe and the U.S. and an exploration of issues related to flight attendants’ exposure to second hand smoke.
“NORC is known for both the quality of its research and analysis of what the findings reveal,” said Dan Gaylin, President and CEO of NORC. “We are delighted that Dr. Stillman, who has produced such an immense body of work on the most important public health issues of the day, will join our efforts.”
Dr. Stillman has published a substantial number of articles in peer-reviewed journals and she is the author of many book chapters, monographs, and reviews.
“Dr. Stillman’s work has been central to efforts in the United States and across the globe to understand and address the health issues related to the use of tobacco products,” said Eric Goplerud, Ph.D., Senior Vice President, and Director, Substance Abuse, Mental Health, and Criminal Justice Studies at NORC. “All those we work with will benefit from the deep knowledge and experience she brings to her research.”
Frances Stillman earned her Ed.D. at The Johns Hopkins University in Counseling and Human Development, her M.Ed at Temple University, where she also received her undergraduate degree.
“There is a great deal yet to be done in efforts to reduce the use of tobacco and tobacco products in this nation and around the world. This appointment will allow me to help advance that work.”
About NORC at the University of Chicago
NORC at the University of Chicago conducts research and analysis that decision-makers trust. As a nonpartisan research organization and a pioneer in measuring and understanding the world, we have studied almost every aspect of the human experience and every major news event for more than eight decades. Today, we partner with government, corporate, and nonprofit clients around the world to provide the objectivity and expertise necessary to inform the critical decisions facing society.
Contact: For more information, please contact Eric Young at NORC at young-eric@norc.org or (703) 217-6814 (cell).