Robert J. Blendon

Dr. Robert J. Blendon is currently the Richard L. Menschel Professor and Senior Associate Dean for Policy Translation and Leadership Development at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. He holds appointments as a Professor of Health Policy and Political Analysis at both the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and the Harvard Kennedy School of Government.

In addition, he directs the Harvard Opinion Research Program, which focuses on better understanding of public knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs about major social policy issues in the U.S. and other nations. He currently co-directs the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation/Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health project on understanding Americans’ Health Agenda, including a joint series with National Public Radio. Previously, he co-directed a special polling series with the Washington Post and Kaiser Family Foundation, which was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. Additionally, Dr. Blendon co-directed a special survey project for the Minneapolis Star Tribune on health care that received the National Press Club’s 1998 Award for Consumer Journalism. He also co-directed a project for National Public Radio and the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation on American attitudes toward domestic policy. The series was cited by the National Journal as setting a new standard for use of public opinion surveys in broadcast journalism.