Kozhimannil named a Distinguished McKnight University Professor - School of Public Health

Complex structural injustices — from economic to environmental to racial — hurt the health of rural residents and constrain the vitality of rural communities. This is clearly visible in the nation’s maternal health statistics. America has the highest rates of maternal death in the developed world and racism affects maternal health in all U.S. communities. Black and Indigenous women are 3-4 times as likely white women to die during pregnancy, childbirth, or postpartum; and rural women have a 9% greater chance of dying, or nearly dying, around the time of childbirth, compared with urban women. In rural America, 20% of people are Black, Indigenous, or a person of color, and these residents face some of the highest risks of maternal mortality, overall mortality, and death due to COVID-19.

But women, infants, families, and rural residents across the country have a fierce advocate in Professor Katy Backes Kozhimannil, who devotes her career to community-engaged, policy-relevant research and action that will ensure healthy lives and greater equity in rural places and communities. For her scholarship, leadership, and impact, the University of Minnesota recently honored Kozhimannil with a Distinguished McKnight University Professorship. She will hold the title for as long as she remains at the University and her name will be added to the Scholars Walk.

“A core motivation of my career is the imperative to create enduring justice,” Kozhimannil says, “And I approach this work with a focus on the impact of my research, teaching, and service on those most affected by health inequities.”

In the slightly more than 10 years since Kozhimannil received her PhD in health policy, she has become the nation’s leading scholar in maternal health services research, a field she is widely credited with building through her publishing, advocacy, on-the-ground engagement, and policy work. Her research has directly supported state and federal policies to improve racial and geographic equity, increase access to evidence-based pregnancy and childbirth care, and enhance the quality of care provided in communities that suffer the most.

“A core motivation of my career is the imperative to create enduring justice.”

Kozhimannil’s pioneering work exposed and helped publicize in the national media such issues as racial inequities in maternal mortality, the loss of rural obstetric services, the rise in cesarean deliveries, breastfeeding challenges for working mothers, and policy options to address maternal mental illness and substance use, including non-medical opioid use. Her work with media leaders guaranteed a broader public awareness of the U.S. maternal mortality crisis.

One of Kozhimannil’s great attributes is that she takes what she learns and pushes for change, and her drive has led to policies and legislation focused on improving outcomes, especially for mothers and infants. The CEO of a rural hospital in Kansas wrote that “there are mothers and babies alive today who otherwise would not be because of Katy Kozhimannil’s research.”

“Through Katy’s extraordinary work, rural America is gaining attention not only for the deep health challenges its residents face, but also for its rich and diverse culture,” says School of Public Health Dean John Finnegan. “And I could not be more proud of what Katy does for women and their infants all over this country. The University has made a wonderful and wise choice in honoring her with this prominent professorship.”

Kozhimannil directs the School of Public Health Rural Health Research Center and she is founding director of the Rural Health Program, an initiative of the Clinical and Translational Science Institute and the Office of Academic Clinical Affairs.

Learn more about Katy Kozhimannil: