UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The Penn State College of Health and Human Development is saddened to share the news that Frank Ahern, teaching professor emeritus of biobehavioral health, passed away last month.
Ahern came to Penn State in 1983 as a senior research associate in the Department of Health Policy and Administration and was a faculty affiliate in the Center for Developmental and Health Genetics.
In 1991, he helped co-found the Department of Biobehavioral Health, which initially offered a graduate program of study. He was a pivotal member of the curriculum development committee that expanded the department to include a bachelor of science degree in 1996. He accepted the role of undergraduate professor-in-charge of the bachelor of science in biobehavioral health in 1997, serving until his retirement from the University in 2016.
"I feel very fortunate to have learned from Dr. Ahern and to have been part of the Biobehavioral Health program he founded," said 2015 alumna Caitlin Garrity, current vice president of the Biobehavioral Health Affiliate Program Group. "It's hard to put into words how much biobehavioral health has shaped my life and career. I'm incredibly grateful for the lasting impact he had on me and so many other students through the program he created."
In the years since its founding, the biobehavioral health undergraduate degree at Penn State has grown into one of the most-enrolled majors at University Park and is now offered at other Penn State campuses, as well as fully online through Penn State’s World Campus. Co-founding the Department of Biobehavioral Health, expanding its offerings, and mentoring its students was one of Ahern's proudest accomplishments, according to his family.
Ahern was deeply committed to his roles as a teacher and mentor. He was recognized with the Evelyn R. Saubel Faculty Award for service to students in 2000. He also enjoyed serving as the faculty marshal for Penn State during several of the University’s commencement ceremonies.
His contributions to the Department of Biobehavioral Health and Penn State writ large live on through the Dr. Frank Ahern Student Award, an endowment established in 2021 through crowdfunding efforts. It is awarded to one student each year who has distinguished themselves through superior academic achievement and outstanding community service engagement.
"Frank was truly a special person," said Thomas Gould, Jean Phillips Shibley Professor of Biobehavioral Health and head of the department. "His legacy lives in every student who graduates with a biobehavioral Health degree, and in the lives of all the people impacted by these graduates who work across the healthcare industry. I am grateful for Frank's vision in developing the biobehavioral health undergraduate program. While I only worked with him my first year as department head, his wisdom and integrity continue to have a profound impact on me, personally, as well as the department at large."
Prior to co-founding the Department of Biobehavioral Health, Ahern directed the Medicine, Health, and Aging project, where his research focused on gerontological health and pharmaco-epidemiology. The project worked closely with the Pennsylvania Department of Aging to study the health of participants in the Pharmaceutical Assistant Contract for the Elderly program.
Ahern came to Penn State from the University of Hawaii, where he completed undergraduate and graduate degrees in psychology. He then became an assistant professor in the School of Public Health at the University of Hawaii at Manoa.
He remained committed to public health research and advocacy throughout his career and retirement.
Debra Miller, class of 1996, was a member of the first cohort of graduate students in the Department of Biobehavioral Health in 1991. She remembers how engaged and approachable Ahern was with his students.
"I got to spend a lot of time with Dr. Ahern in those early days of the department," Miller said. "He was very laid back and understanding — he still emanated Hawaiian vibes from his many years there. He had such an approachable nature and gave excellent advice to us early students navigating a brand-new academic program."
In addition to his academic achievements, Ahern was active in community service and served on the boards of several local and national organizations, including the Centre County Youth Service Bureau, the Central Pennsylvania Chapter of the United Nations Association of the United States of America, the American Civil Liberties Union, and the Bob Perks Fund.
Alumni and friends who wish to make a gift in Ahern's memory may do so by donating to the Dr. Frank Ahern Student Award online (on the page, there is an input option to indicate that the gift is made in memory of Dr. Ahern) or via check made payable to Penn State (include “In Memory of Dr. Frank Ahern – Frank Ahern Student Award (SCHAN)” in the memo line) sent to: The Pennsylvania State University, Office of Donor and Member Services, 329 Innovation Blvd., Suite 311, State College, PA 16803.