Thomas N. Chirikos, PhD, professor emeritus in the Department of Health Policy and Management at the USF College of Public Health, passed away on November 23, 2013.  Dr. Chirikos was the founding department chairman of  Health Policy and Management.

Born on November 19, 1938, in Chicago, Illinois, Dr. Chirikos moved to Tampa, FL, in 1985, becoming the founding chairman of the Department of Health Policy and Management in 1986.  From 1997 until his death Dr. Chirikos was also a member-in-residence (health economics) at Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute.

Thomas Chirikos, PhD

He earned a baccalaureate degree (cum laude) in economics from Coe College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa in 1960, and went on to earn master’s and PhD degrees in economics from The Ohio State University, in 1963 and 1967.

Dr. Chirikos began his academic career at The Ohio State University and from 1968 to 1978 rose from the rank of assistant professor to professor in the Department of Preventive Medicine, College of Medicine. He held a joint appointment in the Faculty of Labor and Human Resources, College of Administrative Sciences.

Dr. Chirikos was a prolific author of research publications in the fields of health economics and of labor and human resource economics. He was awarded National Science Foundation and OECD fellowships and was inducted into Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Society, and Omicron Delta Epsilon, the Economics National Honors Society. His research in health economics was both methodological and focused on medical applications.

He is survived by his wife Linda and many friends and colleagues. 

“He will be greatly missed by his friends and colleagues formed over a lifetime of academic and scientific service,” said Alan Sear, associate professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management.