Thomas R. Oliver University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI, USA
Thomas R. Oliver is professor of population health sciences in the School of Medicine and Public Health at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. There, he also serves as director of the Master of Public Health program and of the Wisconsin Center for Public Health Education and Training and is a faculty affiliate of the Robert M. La Follette School of Public Affairs. Before coming to Wisconsin, he held faculty positions at the University of Maryland and Johns Hopkins University.
Trained in health administration and political science, Professor Oliver teaches courses in domestic and international health systems and policy and in the politics of health policy to a variety of professional and graduate students. Over the course of his career, he has published a wide range of research examining major issues in health politics, policy, and system reform at all levels of government. He has focused much of his work on how ideas—whether specific concepts, evidence-based analysis, or paradigm shifts—are translated into action through leadership and institutional dynamics. Currently, he is studying the critical roles of intersectoral governance and leadership in strategies for population health improvement in the United States and other countries. Professor Oliver served as president of the Health Politics and Policy section of the American Political Science Association in 2010–2011 and is a member of the editorial board of the Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law.