John R. Seffrin, PhD, is the chief executive
officer of the world's largest voluntary health organization devoted to
fighting cancer - the American Cancer Society.
Prior to being named the American Cancer Society 's CEO in 1992, Seffrin was
Professor of Health Education and chair of the Department of Applied Health
Science at Indiana
University.
He served as president of the International Union Against Cancer (UICC) from 2002 to 2006, during which time he worked to revive UICC's historic role as a global leader in tobacco control advocacy and served as its international spokesperson. Seffrin served as chair of the Board of Independent Sector (the largest U.S. membership organization representing nonprofit organizations) from 2002 to 2005.
In 1999, Seffrin was selected to be a charter member of C-Change (formerly known as the National Dialogue on Cancer) Steering Committee, which is co-chaired by former President George Bush and former First Lady Barbara Bush. In 1997, he was appointed to the National Cancer Policy Board, and in 1999, he was appointed by Sen. Dianne Feinstein to co-chair the National Cancer Legislation Advisory Board. He also served a four-year term on the Advisory Committee to the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Seffrin is a preeminent leader of the international tobacco control movement. He led the creation of the National Center for Tobacco-Free Kids, serving as its initial Board Chair. He served on the Advisory Committee to Congress on Tobacco Policy and Public Health, co-chaired by C. Everett Koop and David Kessler; the U.S. Surgeon General's Advisory Committee on Smoking and Health; the President's Commission on Improving Economic Opportunities in Communities Dependent on Tobacco Production While Protecting Public Health; and the Department of Health and Human Services Interagency Committee on Smoking and Health.
Both Ball State University and Purdue University have bestowed honorary doctorates upon him in recognition of his more than three decades of esteemed leadership in the worldwide fight against cancer.