Betty Burston, PH.D., a newly appointed associate professor in residence in the Department of Health Care Administration and Policy, recently returned to higher education after a 24 year sabbatical. During this time, she served as the co-owner of a family-based, healthcare consulting firm. In addition, she co-wrote several independent film, stageplays, and TV series with healthcare themes with her executive producer husband, Sid Burston. The following health-care themed plays were performed at the Cashmen Center Theater in Las Vegas, as well as nationwide:

• Woman At The Well I and II (HIV/AIDS theme)
• THRILL (The impact of faith upon health)
• Get Thee Behind Me: The Stageplay (The impact of father absence)
• PIMP (The impact of human trafficking).

Betty Burston completed her training as an economist at Cornell University and American University. Her primary research interest is improving knowledge of healthcare systems and illnesses and diseases through the use of "edu-tainment". Relative to recent publications, Burston served as a member of various consensus panels that produced the following publications by the National Medical Association: The State of Africa American Health: An Action Plan, Volume 1 (2013); Hepatitis C: A Crisis in the African American Community: Findings and Recommendations, October 2013 and others. Her most recent healthcare "edu-tainment" product is the artsy, edgy film, Miles Away which opened in art-house theaters in April. This film highlights the impact of father absence upon mental health. Before her retirement from academia in January 1992, Burston's cross-disciplinary interests had led to the publication of more than 100 articles, opinion editorials, and monographs. She also wrote or co-wrote federal proposals that led to more than $10 million in federal awards to various colleges/universities, nonprofits, and small businesses. Burston is excited by the prospect of exporting her real world experience into the classroom.