Chen, Huey-Tsyh

Currently Professor at the School of Public Health at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Chen previously worked at the University of Akron until 1997, and joined the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as Chief of an evaluation branch. Chen had taken a leadership role in designing and implementing a national evaluation system for evaluating the CDC-funded HIV prevention programs based in health departments and community-based organizations. His evaluation vision and interests have been expanded and enriched by such practical experiences.

Chen has contributed in the development of evaluation theory and methodology, especially in the areas of program theory, theory-driven evaluation, and evaluation taxonomy. He has published extensively on this topic, including Theory-Driven Evaluations and Using Theory to Improve Programs and Policies, co-edited with Peter H. Rossi. His most recent text, Practical Program Evaluation: Assessing and Improving Planning, Implementation, and Effectiveness, provides a systematic conceptual framework and strategies that benefit evaluation practitioners by systematically identifying stakeholder needs, selecting evaluation options best suited for particular needs and reconciling trade-offs among these options, and putting the selected approaches into action.

In 2001, he received the Award for Dedication and Scientific Direction in the Development and Implementation of Program Evaluation Research Branch from CDC; in 1998, the Senior Biomedical Research Service Award also from CDC; and in 1993, the Paul F. Lazarsfeld Award for contributions to evaluation theory from the American Evaluation Association.