Linda Alexander, EdD, a trailblazer in public health with a career spanning more than 35 years, has been honored with the Hume Medallion Award, the University of Kentucky College of Public Health’s (CPH’s) highest accolade. Dr. Alexander received the honor at the recent Hall of Fame ceremony.
The Hume Medallion is awarded to an exceptional public health practitioner or organization whose work has made a significant impact on the nation, the Commonwealth of Kentucky, the University of Kentucky, or the College of Public Health. The award is granted solely based on merit and service; recipients are not required to be alumni of the institution.
"When I consider that someone has determined that I’m as deserving of a similar award as the many others in the Hall of Fame, it’s very humbling because I've never thought of the things that I've done as a trajectory to an award,” Dr. Alexander said. “I've been at the right place at the right time to serve the people that need me.”
Dr. Alexander has spent her career advancing public health through visionary leadership, strong collaborative partnerships, and a deep commitment to community engagement. Her extensive career spans academia, federal agencies, and community organizations, where she has made significant contributions to scientific research, policy development, and workforce training.
Originally a behavioral scientist, Dr. Alexander completed an NIH-funded post-doctoral fellowship in cardiovascular epidemiology in the 1990s. She later became Director of the Minority Health Research Laboratory at the University of Maryland. In 2002, she joined the University of Kentucky as the inaugural Director of the Health Education through Extension Leadership (HEEL) project, where she played key roles within the Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service and collaborated with the Colleges of Agriculture and Medicine.
Eventually, Dr. Alexander joined the UK College of Public Health as the academic dean, serving as a bridge between the college's administration, faculty, students, and its work in the community.
“Public health is a discipline that we fall into,” she said. “And we find that it satisfies a tremendous sense of purpose in influencing and affecting and being able to provide education and awareness to protect the public's health."
Her tenure at CPH marked the beginning of a career that would lead her to West Virginia University’s School of Public Health and, eventually, to a national platform at the Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health (ASPPH).
Now, as Chief Academic Officer for ASPPH, Dr. Alexander oversees education, accreditation, and workforce initiatives, working with national and global partners to enhance public health education. She also leads grant-funded initiatives, including a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention project to establish national standards for infectious disease certification and a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation initiative to dismantle structural barriers in academic institutions.
“Our role at ASPPH is to prepare the future workforce for careers in public health,” she said. “We represent 150 plus schools and programs, advocating for policies and practices that will equip the next generation of public health professionals.”
Yet for all her accomplishments in higher education, it’s the moments that allowed her to directly impact communities that stand out as highlights in her career.
A project she is especially proud of is Colors of Promise, a breast cancer awareness initiative aimed at women of color in Lexington, which she helped co-found in 2012 alongside Nancy Garth, Vivian Lasley Bibbs, and Eileen Levy.
“We started a grassroots organization that is now a 501c3,” Dr. Alexander said. "The women, the heart of the women who really felt that this was important, have really kept it going. I’m so proud of it.”
Dr. Alexander’s academic contributions have been most prominent in tobacco-related health disparities. She was a founding member of the Tobacco Research Network on Disparities (TReND) and served as senior volume editor for the National Cancer Institute’s (NCI’s) Monograph 22. In March 2024, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services adopted her TReND tobacco framework in its smoking cessation goals.
“I'm very proud of the National Cancer Institute Monograph 22,” she said. “My colleague Dr. Pebbles Fagan was the scientific advisor, and we are the first African-American women to lead an NCI monograph of that magnitude.”
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Alexander was appointed to the West Virginia COVID-19 Medical Advisory Group, where she addressed the needs of rural, ethnic, and underserved populations. Her leadership also extends to the board of directors for Public Health Watch, an organization focused on environmental health and social justice, and the Arkansas Cancer Coalition, which targets cancer disparities in rural and Black communities.
Dr. Alexander also recalled a particular moment at this year’s Hall of Fame ceremony when a group of young women in the Master of Health Administration program came up to her after her speech.
“They told me my speech inspired them, and that’s the real reason you do this work,” she said. "It’s about representation and showing them that they can achieve what they set their minds to.”
Her influence on students is clear, both in her direct teaching and in the broader mentorship roles she has taken on throughout her career.
“I’ve always said, ‘bloom where you’re planted,’” she noted. “If you leave a place with people still wanting you back, that’s a sign of a job well done.”
Even though she left the University of Kentucky in 2016, Dr. Alexander’s ties to CPH remain strong.
"I think about the students I taught, the faculty I mentored, and the colleagues who have stayed in touch," she said. "It’s deeply gratifying to know that the work we did together made a lasting impact."
Throughout her career, Dr. Linda Alexander has been a visionary leader, advocating for health equity, community engagement, and workforce development. Her legacy continues to shape the future of public health education, policy, and practice.
