Dr. Al Pheley

Dr. Al Pheley, Director

Al Pheley, Director

B.A., 1982, Indiana University;
M.S., 1984, North Dakota State University;
Ph.D., 1990, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota.

Appointed to Albion College, 2006.
Appointed Director of the Gerald R. Ford Institute for Leadership in Public Policy and Service, 2006.
Appointed Director of Institute for Premedical Professions and Health Sciences, 2010.

Office: 201B Robinson Hall
E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Phone: 517/629-0359

Ford Institute Courses Taught:

Al Pheley, Ph.D., earned his doctorate in Epidemiology from the University of Minnesota, School of Public Health in 1990. He also holds a Master's in Clinical Psychology from North Dakota State University (1984). During the 1990s Dr. Pheley directed the Clinical Epidemiology Program at the Hennepin County Medical Center and Minneapolis Medical Research Foundation, serving as a research mentor to several health care professionals while working on his own health services research related to medically underserved populations.

From 1998 to 2002, Dr. Pheley was an Associate Professor at the Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine and the Director for Clinical Research Development. While there he established the College's Center for Appalachian and Rural Health Research. Leading a multidisciplinary team of researchers, Dr. Pheley examined the challenges to quality health care access in Southeastern Ohio and its association with the population's health status. The results of this work were used by state and federal policymakers to support the development of legislation and regional programs to address these issues. During this time he also served on the Sixth District Federal Healthcare Advisory Committee for Congressman Ted Strickland.

In July 2002, Dr. Pheley took on the responsibilities of Professor and Chair, Department of Community and Rural Medicine as a founding faculty member of the Virginia College of Osteopathic Medicine in Blacksburg, Va. In this role, he continued his research, policy, and service interests underserved populations.

Most recently, Dr. Pheley was selected as a member of the 2005-2006 class of the Robert Wood Johnson Health Policy / American Political Science Association Fellowship program. This highly competitive and prestigious program provides six to seven individuals the opportunity to experience the federal policy process as an insider. During his year on "The Hill," Dr. Pheley worked in the office of Senator John D. "Jay" Rockefeller IV (West Virginia) on a broad array of projects.

Dr. Pheley sits on the editorial boards of the Journal of Rural Health, for which he is the chair, and the Journal of the American Osteopathic Association. Al, his wife Paula, and their son Brendan are excited about being part of the Albion community. Dr. Pheley is a native of Michigan, having grown up in Garden City.