Professorship Profiles

Shahid and Ann Carlson Khan

Shahid Khan graduated from the University of Illinois with a bachelor of science degree in industrial engineering in 1971. For the past 30 years, he has served as president of the Flex- N-Gate Corporation, a world-wide supplier of automotive components and systems. Shahid's illustrious career was recognized in 1999 by the University of Illinois Department of Mechanical Science and Industrial Engineering with a Distinguished Alumnus Award and in 2006 by the College of Engineering with the Alumni Award for Distinguished Service. Ann Carlson Khan earned a bachelor of arts degree in economics from the University of Illinois in 1980. After a career in marketing for Quaker Oats Company, Ann has been an active campus and community volunteer and serves as president of the Khan Foundation.

Shahid and Ann have been long-time members of the University of Illinois Alumni Association, the University of Illinois Foundation, and the Presidents Council. In addition to the College of Applied Health Sciences, the Khans have generously supported a number of campus units including the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts, the Spurlock Museum, and Fighting Illini tennis. In recognition of their extraordinary commitment, dedication, and service to the advancement of the University of Illinois, Shahid and Ann received the 2005 Distinguished Service Award by the University of Illinois Alumni Association.

The Shahid and Ann Carlson Khan Professorship in Applied Health Sciences will be affiliated with the Center on Health, Aging, and Disability. The Khans' gift of five endowed professorships will significantly advance the research, teaching, and outreach activities that enable people to lead healthy, independent, and productive lives.

Edward McAuley

Edward McAuley is a well-established national and international leader in behavioral health interventions, especially as they relate to physical activity and aging. He has an impressive record of external funding, and external evaluators describe him as "the most significant scholar in his field."

Professor McAuley's extensive publications are widely cited. He has authored or co-authored 21 book chapters, over 180 articles in refereed journals, has given numerous prestigious national and international presentations, and has been principal investigator or co-investigator on more than 40 grants, totaling more than $26 million in external support. Professor McAuley plays an active role in a number of scientific societies, including the Gerontological Society of America and the Society of Behavioral Medicine. He is an Associate Editor of the Annals of Behavioral Medicine and serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences and Psychology and Aging.

Professor McAuley received his bachelor's degree from University College, Worcester (England), his master's degree from the University of Virginia, and his Ph.D. from the University of Iowa. He completed a post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Iowa's College of Medicine and previously held faculty positions at Kansas State University and the University of Oregon. Professor McAuley has been a faculty member in the University of Illinois Department of Kinesiology and Community Health since 1989. He has been recognized for his scholarly expertise on a national and international level, including election to the prestigious American Academy of Kinesiology. At the campus level, he has been the recipient of both the Campus Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching and the Campus Award for Excellence in Guiding Undergraduate Research and has been named a University Scholar.

David M. Buchner, MD, MPH

David M. Buchner, MD, MPH received a BA degree from Harvard University in 1974, an MD degree from the University of Kansas in 1977, and a MPH degree from the University of Washington in 1984. He joined the faculty in the School of Public Health and Community Medicine at the University of Washington in Seattle, and rose to the rank of Professor. While in Seattle, he also was an investigator in the Health Services Research Program at the Seattle Veterans Administration Medical Center, and practiced geriatric medicine.

In 1999, Dr. Buchner joined the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as the first Chief of the newly formed Physical Activity and Health Branch. In his position at CDC, he was involved in numerous national and international initiatives to promote physical activity, such as sponsoring first International Congress of Physical Activity and Public Health, launching the National Society of Physical Activity Practitioners in Public Health, and supporting the evidence review for the Community Guide recommendations on community-level interventions to promote physical activity. He led the writing group which wrote the 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans recently released by the US Department of Health and Human Services.

In 2008, he accepted a position as the Shahid & Ann Carlson Khan Professor in Applied Health Sciences in the Department of Kinesiology and Community Health at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He has published extensively in the areas of physical activity in older adults and the role of physical activity in preventing fall injuries.