Dr. Nirav Shah to Join Colby College Faculty

The former principal deputy director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will teach several courses and help advance the College’s public health initiative

Dr. Nirav D. Shah, the epidemiologist who rose to national prominence during the Covid-19 pandemic as director of the Maine Center for Disease Control & Prevention, will join Colby in the fall as a visiting professor in the Department of Statistics. Shah will teach courses on public health and will help the College develop its public health program.

Shah, who received an honorary doctoral degree from Colby in 2022,

recently stepped down from a leadership position at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.

During his time at the Maine CDC, Shah became the voice and face of the pandemic response in Maine with his regular televised news conferences. He earned widespread praise for being truthful, direct, and compassionate, and for making complicated scientific concepts understandable. Shah’s mastery of subject material, generosity of spirit, and calm leadership style have made him a trusted public health official at the state and federal levels and a revered public servant, said Colby President David A. Greene.

“As Mainers witnessed throughout the pandemic, Dr. Shah is a natural teacher. He has an extraordinary capacity to synthesize and communicate complex issues. And that he does so with humor, compassion, and a clear commitment to bettering the lives of others is all the more remarkable,” said Greene. “He has become one of the world’s leading public health experts, especially in the fields of outbreaks and epidemics. It is Colby’s good fortune that he has decided to join our faculty and help us launch one of the top undergraduate public health programs in the nation.”

At Colby, he will teach a variety of courses, including an introductory level course on public health, an advanced course on epidemics and outbreaks, and a one-month “Jan Plan” course on crisis communications. Shah, who holds medical and law degrees, also will teach a course on the fundamentals of the American legal system.

Shah said he was “over the moon” about becoming a member of the Colby faculty. “This is a fantastic opportunity to train the next generation of public health leaders,” he said. “Colby is well positioned to be a national leader in undergraduate public health education, and I’m honored to help play a role.”

Nirav Shah received an honorary doctoral degree from Colby in 2022.

Shah taught briefly at the University of Chicago before his career in government, and he has hoped for the opportunity to teach again at the college level. Shah was drawn to Colby because he admires Greene’s values-based leadership style. As director of the Maine CDC, Shah worked closely with Greene and other Colby administrators during the pandemic, advising the College on its plans and successful efforts to reopen the Mayflower Hill campus for in-person learning.

Provost and Dean of Faculty Margaret McFadden said the courses that Shah will teach will appeal to a broad range of students. “He’ll be adding classes to the curriculum that we haven’t been able to offer thus far, and that will enable us to meet the needs of the many students who are deeply interested in public health,” McFadden said. “And his wide and varied knowledge of the field will help us design opportunities that will enable students to pursue remarkable cocurricular experiences. I know many faculty members are really looking forward to collaborating with him, as well.”

In addition to his teaching responsibilities, Shah will help Colby formalize its academic program in public health, a central component of the College’s initiative to become a national leader in the sciences among liberal arts colleges and regional hub for scientific innovation.

‘This is a fantastic opportunity to train the next generation of public health leaders. Colby is well positioned to be a national leader in undergraduate public health education, and I’m honored to help play a role.’

Dr. Nirav Shah

In his new position, Shah will work with faculty colleagues to shape an academic program to train future public health workers, integrate education and research at Colby with state and local governmental entities, provide outreach to local communities struggling with public health crises, and connect disciplines and departments across campus. The public health program is part of a larger expansion into applied sciences designed to help solve some of Maine’s complex challenges, including access to rural healthcare, contaminated soil and water, and high rates of cancer, obesity, and diabetes.

The goal is to create an experience-rich curriculum that prepares students for careers in public health upon graduation or for graduate school. With Shah’s contacts in Maine and around the world, he also will help establish the range of practical experiences that Colby students will engage in through internships, partnerships, and other arrangements.  

Shah will add his unique expertise and experience to the work that a faculty committee has done over the last two years and help finalize the plan for the new program. Shah’s work will involve “grafting onto” Colby’s existing academic infrastructure. Faculty and students are already involved in interdisciplinary teaching, research, and innovation related to public health, including work involving Maine’s aging population, water quality, forever chemicals, and the opioid epidemic. 

Before accepting the position at Colby, Shah served as both principal deputy director and acting director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as well as acting administrator of the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. He was with the federal CDC for two years, following his departure from Maine.

He joined the Maine CDC in June 2019. Prior to joining the Maine CDC, he served as director of the Illinois Department of Health. Before that, Shah was the chief economist of the Ministry of Health of Cambodia during his tenure as a Henry Luce Scholar.

Shah was born in Wisconsin and grew up there. He majored in biology at the University of Louisville, where he received his B.S. He studied economics at Oxford University and then enrolled in medical school at the University of Chicago, where he completed his J.D. and M.D. degrees.

“It is a privilege to welcome Dr. Shah back to Maine and to benefit from his vast experiences and talents,” said Greene. “At Colby we share Dr. Shah’s passion for strengthening our communities and doing all we can to ensure Maine continues to thrive in education, health care, and economic progress.”