On Friday, Oct. 17, David Dausey, Ph.D., Dean of the School of Public Health, appeared on CNN to share his expertise on the rising Ebola concerns in America.
He has also been featured in the Washington Post, USA Today, Fox News Radio, the BBC and CTV. He received his Ph.D. at Yale and is now an international authority on public health.
“Erin Burnett’s staff was wonderful to work with and they made the experience very enjoyable,” Dausey said.
He only wishes there had been more time allotted to debate and discuss Ebola because it is such a significant issue.
Mercyhurst is a small institution; however, Dausey believes that being on national news not only helps with name recognition, “but it also demonstrates to our students that many of our professors are leaders in their respective fields and have valued input into their future direction.”
Dausey also thinks Mercyhurst has “had an impact on the policy debate around Ebola and how we as a nation should be responding.”
While on air, Dausey mentioned how “commercial airlines are not trained and their staff are not trained to respond to a deadly infectious disease outbreak.”
He claims that because “the disease itself is very difficult to contain,” airlines are one of the easiest ways for the disease to spread.
Most people have only heard about Mercyhurst if they live in or near Erie. Hopefully, people outside of Erie will take him seriously, as they should due to his credentials.
While we have had Mercyhurst professors and students on local news, it is not often that a professor has the opportunity to be featured on national news.
According to Dausey, “this has been a gratifying experience because we’ve helped to broaden the discussion of policy options.” This is definitely a step in the right direction for Mercyhurst.