`This gripping narrative not only documents the history of humankind′s interaction with a clever virus, it brings to the forefront the much and understated and underused role of communication in HIV and AIDS prevention, care and treatment. Singhal and Rogers remind us that our global environment is shaped by powerful communication means and methods that, if properly harnessed, can help defeat the plague of the 21st century′ - Neil McKee, Senior Technical Advisor for HIV//AIDS and Adolescent Health, Johns Hopkins University
HIV//AIDS is a matter of global concern. The world is now more than 20 years into the HIV//AIDS crisis with no vaccine in sight, and relatively few effective and sustainable prevention programs. Although the rate of HIV infection and AIDS deaths has declined in the richer nations of the developed world, infection rates are soaring in developing countries. AIDS is now the leading cause of death in Africa, and the fourth leading cause of death globally.
Dr. Arvind Singhal (asinghal@utep.edu) is the Samuel Shirley and Edna Holt Marston Endowed Professor of Communication and Director of the Social Justice Initiative in UTEP’s Department of Communication. He is also appointed, since 2009-2010, as the William J. Clinton Distinguished Fellow at the Clinton School of Public Service, Little Rock, Arkansas. Singhal teaches and conducts research in the diffusion of innovations, the positive deviance approach, organizing for social change, the entertainment-education strategy, and liberating interactional structures. His research and outreach spans sectors such as health, education, peace, human rights, poverty alleviation, sustainable development, civic participation, democracy and governance, and corporate citizenship.
Singhal is co-author or editor of 12 books – Health Communication in the 21st Century (2014); Inviting Everyone: Healing Healthcare through Positive Deviance (2010); Protecting Children from Exploitation and Trafficking: Using the Positive Deviance Approach (2009); Popular with a Purpose (2008); Communication of Innovations (2006); Organizing for Social Change (2006); Entertainment-Education Worldwide: History, Research, and Practice (2004); Combating AIDS: Communication Strategies in Action (2003); The Children of Africa Confront AIDS: From Vulnerability to Possibility (2003);India’s Communication Revolution: From Bullock Carts to Cyber Marts (2001); Entertainment-Education: A Communication Strategy for Social Change (1999); and India′s Information Revolution (1989). Three of Singhal’s books won awards for distinguished applied scholarship. In addition, he has authored some 170 peer-reviewed essays in outlets such as the Journal of Communication, Communication Theory, Communication Monographs, Health Communication, Management Communication Quarterly; Communication Quarterly, Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, Journal of Health Communication, and others.
Singhal has won Top Paper Awards from the International and National Communication Associations (ICA and NCA) over a dozen times, and Ohio University’s Baker Research Award twice. The Social Science Research Council & the International Communication Association recognized him as the winner of the Communication Research as Collaborative Practice Award in 2009, and the winner of the Communication Researcher as an Agent of Change Award in 2008. The NW Communication Association honored him with the 2007 Human Rights Award for Steadfast Commitment to Social Justice, Social Change, and Freedom, and in 2005, USC’s Norman Lear Center honored him with the first Everett M. Rogers Award for Outstanding Contributions to Entertainment-Education.
Singhal’s recent academic honors and appointments include President-Appointed Visiting Professor, Kumamoto (National) University, Japan (2012-13); Fulbright Hays Scholar, Slovakia (2012); Schomburg Distinguished Scholar, Ramapo College of New Jersey (2011), Commerzbank Foundation Professor, Chemnitz University of Technology, Germany (2009); Berkitt Williams Distinguished Lecturer, Ouachita Baptist University, Arkansas (2009); and Raushni Memorial Deshpande Distinguished Lecturer, Lady Irwin College, University of Delhi, India (2006).
Singhal′s research has been supported by the National Institutes of Health, The Dutch Health Research Council, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Ford Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, The National Science Foundation, The David and Lucile Packard Foundation, and others. He has served as an advisor to the World Bank, UN-FAO, UNICEF, UNDP, UNAIDS, UNFPA, U.S. Department of State; U.S. A.I.D., Family Health International, PATH, Save the Children, the BBC World Service Trust, International Rice Research Institute, Voice for Humanity, and private corporations such as Procter & Gamble (U.S.A and Thailand), Telenor AS (Norway), SpareBank (Norway), and others.
He has taught previously at Ohio University, University of Southern California, University of California- Los Angeles, and held visiting professorships at the USC Annenberg School; the Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University; Royal Roads University, Canada; Kumamoto (National) University, Japan; Chemnitz University of Technology in Germany; Institut Teknologi (Malaysia), Bangkok University (Thailand); and visited and lectured in some 70 countries of Asia, Africa, Latin America, Australia, Europe, and North America.
