Shaniece Criss
Assistant Professor, Health Sciences
- Email: shaniece.criss@furman.edu
- Phone: 864.294.3606
- Office: PAC 101-J
Dr. Shaniece Criss is a Health Science faculty member at Furman University and a community-engaged qualitative researcher addressing health equity and health communication. As a founding member of the Big Data for Health Equity Research Collaborative, she works with university researchers from across the U.S. to investigate how societal issues impact health. At Furman, she partners with the Institute for the Advancement of Community Health as an academic lead on projects with Prisma Health and LiveWell Greenville. She is a fellow of Riley Institute’s Diversity Leaders Initiative, Shi Institute for Sustainable Communities, Shucker Leadership Institute, as well as, a Gallup-Certified Strengths Coach.
Dr. Criss is an elected official on Travelers Rest City Council and serves on the board of directors for Prisma Health, South Carolina Hospital Association, Public Education Partners, Greenville Women Giving, and Together Women Rise. She also co-chairs the Health Committee on the Racial Equity and Economic Mobility (REEM) Commission. Recently, she was recognized as one of eleven leaders from across the state with the “Women Vision SC” Award from ETV. In addition, she was named a “ChangeMaker” by Multiplying Good and inducted into the Greenville County Schools Hall of Fame.
With a passion to implement effective interventions and policies, she earned her doctorate from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Master of Public Administration from Harvard Kennedy School of Government, where she was awarded a Presidential Public Service Fellowship. She has a Master of Public Health from Emory University and an undergraduate degree in communication from Oglethorpe University. As a public health practitioner, Dr. Criss served as producer and host for a national television show for the Ministry of Health in Guyana during her Peace Corps service. She also held positions at ICF International, Centers for Disease Control, and CNN.
Education
- Sc.D., Harvard University, T. H. Chan School of Public Health
- M.P.H., Emory University, Rollins School of Public Health
- M.P.A., Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government
- B.A., Oglethorpe University
Research
Dr. Criss utilizes community-engaged qualitative research to address health equity and health communication. Please see her Curriculum Vitae for details.