Meet Your Health Studies Director

Jerusha Detweiler-Bedell

Director of the Center for Community and Global Health
Health Studies Minor Advisor
Professor of Psychology

My Lewis & Clark Story

If you are interested in learning more about the Health Studies minor or are ready to declare, I’m here to advise you. Please email me and set up a time to meet. I began my work in the Department of Psychology at Lewis & Clark College in 2001, teaching courses such as Health Psychology, Clinical Psychology, and Psychology Internship. As the co-director of the Behavioral Health and Social Psychology Lab, I work in collaboration with undergraduate students to explore how attitudes and emotions influence health-related decision making. I was named the United States Baccalaureate Colleges Professor of the Year in 2008, served as interim Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences from 2014-15, and was the founding director of the College’s Andrew W. Mellon Foundation-funded Teaching Excellence Program from 2016-2019.

I’ve chosen to spend my career at Lewis & Clark because of the undergraduate students. Your passion for learning, openness to new ideas, willingness to challenge yourselves, and dedication to the well-being of others is truly inspiring. 

As the founding director of Lewis & Clark’s Center for Community and Global Health and the advisor for students minoring in Health Studies, I am thrilled to work in collaboration with students, faculty, staff, and alumni in bringing together coursework, internship experiences, community collaborations, and scholarly activity in health-related fields. I believe that a liberal arts education provides an ideal foundation for addressing the world’s current and future public health challenges.

When I’m not working with students on campus, I enjoy spending time with friends and family, taking long walks with our puppy, reading novels, dancing, and traveling. I look forward to an opportunity to get to know even more of you through the Center for Community and Global Health!

Academic Credentials

PhD, Clinical Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, CT
MA, Psychology, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA
BA, Psychology, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA