Center For Evidence-Based Programming

Michael Young served as a faculty member and administrator in higher education for more than 40 years. He began his career at a small church-related college (Campbellsville College), served on the faculty of three land-grant universities (Auburn, University of Arkansas, New Mexico State University), and at a large urban university (University of Texas – Arlington) in the largest nursing program at any publicly funded university in the country. Dr. Young has held the rank of full professor, or higher, with tenure, since 1989. He held the honorific rank of University Professor at the University of Arkansas, a rank held by only 11 other people on campus at the time of his appointment. He spent 27 years on the UofA faculty and received a number of other recognitions, including the Alumni Association Award for Outstanding Achievement in Research and Community Service. The Alumni Award is the highest award given to a UofA faculty member.

At New Mexico State University Dr. Young served in a number of different capacities. This included the Associate Dean for Research and Faculty Affairs in the College of Health & Social Services, Director of the Southwest Institute for Health Disparities Research, Director of the Southwest Survey Research Center, and Head of the Department of Public Health Science.

At the University of Texas at Arlington Dr. Young served as Associate Dean for Research. Additionally, he served as Director for the Center of Nursing Research, and held faculty rank as Professor..  

Dr. Young currently serves as CEO of the Center for Evidence-Based Programming. He leads the organization’s efforts in publishing and marketing health education materials, including Keep A Clear Mind (KACM). Dr. Young also heads the Center’s training and evaluation efforts. For a number of years, he has worked closely with other highly qualified researchers and evaluators to provide high quality evaluation services to recipients of federal grants. His recent work includes serving as PI, or as a member of the evaluation team, for several randomized control trials involving Healthy Marriage and Responsible Fatherhood projects. He has also worked with projects designed to reduce teen pregnancy.

Dr. Young founded the Health Education Projects Office at the University of Arkansas and oversaw all aspects of its operation. The Projects Office involved schools and community agencies from 69 of the state’s 75 counties in various funded projects, and also worked with a number of out-of-state groups. Dr. Young and his co-workers secured grant funds that allowed them to develop health education curricula and field-test them in schools, resulting in several publications in national peer-reviewed journals. Health education curricula that were developed received a number of national awards and have been used by schools and agencies across the country. For example, the Sex Can Wait curriculum series, and the training project from which it originated, are five-time winners of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Award for Outstanding Work in Community Health Promotion. Keep A Clear Mind, a parent-child, take-home program in drug education, was recognized by the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP) with its Exemplary Program Award. Keep A Clear Mind has also been promoted as a Model Program by CSAP, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, and the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, and was named to the National Registry of Evidence-Based Programs and Practices. The Health Education Projects Office was also one of two programs in the country selected as a national model for teacher training.

Dr. Young has published 125 articles in national/international peer reviewed journals, plus additional articles and book chapters, has presented more than 272 papers at national/international conferences, and has received both institutional and national/international recognition for his research efforts (e.g. American School Health Association’s Research Award, American Association for Health Education’s Scholar Award, and Fellow Status in the American Academy of Health Behavior, Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality, American School Health Association, and American Association for Health Education).

Selected Recent Publications