Richard Cleland joins school as adjunct associate professor

Richard Cleland, a career advocate for making informed decisions about health-related products and services, joined the faculty of the Indiana University School of Public Health-Bloomington (SPH-B) earlier this year. A public servant for more than 40 years, he served as the director of consumer protection in the Iowa Attorney General's Office from 1983 to 1991. During that time he prosecuted cases of health fraud, particularly weight loss fraud. He also collaborated with other states to bring charges against major corporations making deceptive claims about the health benefits of their food products.

Mr. Cleland holds a J.D. from the University of Iowa. When he joined the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in 1991, he advanced through several roles including assistant director of the Division of Advertising Practices, assistant director of the Service Industry Practices, and assistant to the director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection for Regional Office Operations. Throughout his time at the FTC, he continued to expose and prevent product advertising that falsely claimed to increase healthy outcomes.

"Rich understands the importance of evaluating the research that underpins legal decision making," says fellow SPH-B faculty member Paul Coates, Ph.D. "This proved invaluable—more than once—in dealing with companies that failed to tell the whole truth about their products. I've always been impressed with his depth of knowledge and perseverance in bringing cases against companies that were doing the wrong thing."

Mr. Cleland's appointment comes at an exciting time for the school's Department of Applied Health Science, which is home to unique and rapidly growing degree programs—including a Ph.D.—in nutrition.

"Rich Cleland is a national leader in combating fraud around health and weight-loss products in the United States," says Steven Heymsfield, M.D., professor of metabolism and body composition at the University of Louisiana Pennington Biomedical Research Center. "He provided outstanding advice and guidance in my own efforts to investigate claims about dietary supplements. Rich has consumers' best interests in mind and is a great asset to the School of Public Health-Bloomington."

Mr. Cleland received the Robert Pitofsky Lifetime Achievement Award from the FTC in 2021.

A directory of SPH-B faculty is available at go.iu.edu/4ghP. For more school news, please visit go.iu.edu/48bx.