Mark Salzer

Mark Salzer, PhD, is a Professor and former Department Chair in the College of Public Health at Temple University. He has also been the principal investigator and director of the Temple University RRTC on Community Living and Participation For People with Serious Mental Illnesses, a Rehabilitation Research and Training Center (RRTC) funded by the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living and Rehabilitation Research, since 2003. The RRTC is part of the Temple University Collaborative on Community Inclusion of Individuals with Psychiatric Disabilities (www.tucollaborative.org). Prior to coming to Temple University he was a faculty member at Meharry Medical College and Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, and an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.

Dr. Salzer has been the Principal or Co-Principal (MPI) investigator on more than $35 million in federally funded research grants, has published more than 200 articles and book chapters on the delivery of effective community mental health and rehabilitation services to individuals with psychiatric disabilities, and has given more than 550 presentations around the world, including Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canada, Israel, England, Australia and New Zealand. His awards include the Paul W. Eberman Faculty Research Award from Temple University, the Faculty mentorship award from the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, and the Faculty Service Award from Temple University’s Faculty Senate. He also has received the Righteous Person Award from Tikvah AJMI, the Bell of Hope Award from Mental Health Partnerships, the Impact Award from NAMI of PA Montgomery County, and the 18th Annual Bruce Woodcock Memorial Lecture in Melbourne, Australia. Dr. Salzer has been interviewed on CNN, NPR, the Australian Broadcast Company, and various other news outlets.

During Dr. Salzer’s seven years as a department chair, he oversaw more than a 100% increase in student enrollment, hired more than 15 faculty members, led a dramatic increase in research funding, and supported successful accreditation efforts in occupational therapy and recreational therapy. He has served on more than 40 departmental, college and university committees, including being appointed by the President of Temple University as co-chair of the Periodic Review Report Steering Committee for Middle States Accreditation. His service to the field has included roles as associate editor of three journals, being an ad hoc peer reviewer for more than 110 journals across numerous disciplines, chairing 25 grant review panels for the National Institutes of Health, and serving on more than 25 other grant review panels and competitions for various U.S. government and international funders. He also works closely with government and community agencies and has been a part of proposals that have resulted in more than $30 million in new training, technical assistance, and service grants.