Bill Kohl

Dr. Harold W. (Bill) Kohl, III is Professor of Epidemiology and Kinesiology at the University of Texas School of Public Health, Austin Regional Campus and the University of Texas, Austin.

Prior to this appointment, he served as Lead Epidemiologist and Team Leader in the Physical Activity and Health Branch of the Division of Nutrition and Physical Activity at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. He has worked since 1984 in the area of physical activity and health, including conducting research, developing and evaluating intervention programs for adults and children, and developing and advising on policy issues. He earned his doctorate in Epidemiology and Community Health Studies at the University of Texas- Houston Health Science Center School of Public Health, and a Master of Science in Public Health at the University of South Carolina.

Dr. Kohl’s other areas of specialization are Biostatistics and Health Promotion. His research interests include current focuses on physical activity, exercise, fitness and health as well as and sports medicine surveillance systems for musculoskeletal injuries. In his recent efforts, he has concentrated on national and international physical activity surveillance and epidemiology issues, as well as program development and evaluation studies for the promotion of school-based physical activity for children and adolescents. He initiated Active Texas 2020, a state physical activity plan for Texas. He has served as an elected Trustee and is a Fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine and is a Fellow in the National Academy of Kinesiology. He is the founding president of the International Society for Physical Activity and Health. He has served in an editorial capacity for several scientific journals and is currently Editor Emeritus of the Journal of Physical Activity and Health. He is currently serving as Chair of an Institute of Medicine committee at the National Academies of Science on physical activity and physical education in school-based settings and on the Science Board of the President’s Council on Physical Fitness, Sports and Nutrition.

He has published more than 160 papers, chapters and monographs in the scientific literature.