Awards
- School of Public Health John R. Endwright Alumni Service Award - 2001
Dr. Joy M. Kirchner is a former coordinator of Allied Health Programs at Western Kentucky University. She primarily worked to promote public health services in secondary and higher education in Kentucky, having been appointed as the assistant coordinator of Health Sciences for the Council of Public Higher Education and to serve on the Council for Health Services of the State Bureau of Human Resources in 1974.
Dr. Kirchner attended Texas State College for Women, where she received her master's degree. Before Western Kentucky University, she taught at Appalachian State Teachers College in North Carolina. During her time in North Carolina, she served as the vice president of the North Carolina HPER, along with the role of State Dance Chairman within the organization. In addition, she was involved in a variety of community organizations in other states including the Board of Directors of the North Alabama Association for Mental Health and the Committee for Professional Education for the Warren County Cancer Society. Dr. Kirchner has also written several books, including Health and Safety Education in University Extension Division Programs (1968).