Chandra L. FordProfessor of Behavioral, Social, and Health Education Sciences (Rollins School of Public Health) and African American Studies

Chandra L. Ford joins the Department of African American Studies from the Fielding School of Public Health at the University of California Los Angeles, where she served as professor of community health sciences and founding director of the Center for the Study of Racism, Social Justice and Health. Much of her work is dedicated to studying the impacts of racism and inequities on public health and supporting interdisciplinary research to prevent and combat the consequences of racism. 

She is lead editor of “Racism: Science & Tools for the Public Health Professional,” which was selected as an Outstanding Academic Title of 2020 by the American Library Association’s Choice magazine. A dynamic and in-demand speaker, teacher and author, Ford’s contributions to public scholarship are profound. Her eminence has been recognized by a number of accolades, including: the 2019 Paul Cornely Award from the Health Activist Dinner group; the 2020 Wade Hampton Frost Award from the Epidemiology Section of the American Public Health Association; a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Association of Black Women Physicians; a TrueHero Award from TruEvolution; and the 2023 Russell G. Mawby "People Helping People" Award from the Alliance of Leadership Fellows.

Dr. Ford's scholarship addresses the persistent and pernicious impacts of racism on individual and population health.