Leadership growth at SPHTM
(Photo from left to right: Drs. Erica Whitiker, Katherine Andrinopoulos, Lina Moses, Alicia Battle, David Chae, and Richard Oberhelman)
The addition of several leadership positions, breaking one department into two separate entities, and chair vacancies in two departments brings change to the School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine.
In an effort to provide more cohesion in degree programs, Dean LaVeist has announced several new positions that will address student needs. Dr. Erica Whitiker is the most recent addition to the school’s leadership as the assistant dean for student experience.
Dr. Katherine Andrinopoulos has added director of doctoral programs to her slate of responsibilities and will oversee a cross-departmental program of professional development for doctoral students and post-doctoral fellows. “A strong doctoral training program is key to achieving the school’s mission and ensuring a thriving research enterprise,” said the dean when Andrinopoulos’ new role was announced. Dr. Andrinopoulos is an associate professor in the Department of Global Community Health and Behavioral Sciences (GCHB).
In like fashion, Dr. Lina Moses, an assistant professor in GCHB, is now the director of Master of Public Health Programs. In this role, she will help to strengthen program development for the MPH that will ensure that all students have an excellent educational experience that prepares them for public health practice and research.
Dr. Alicia Battle, who joined SPHTM in Fall 2019 as program director for the new Online MPH program, has become the associate dean for online programs. With this new role, Battle now oversees all online programs at the school, including the MPH in Community Health Sciences, four degree programs and four certificate programs in Environmental Health Sciences, and soon an online Master of Health Administration program.
Dean LaVeist has also expanded the school’s research leadership. Dr. David Chae recently joined SPHTM as associate dean for research. In his announcement, the dean highlighted that Chae’s highly diverse research skillset will aid the school in advancing our research portfolio.
Dr. Richard Oberhelman, a professor with more than 30 years of experience in applied and clinical child health research, was named the associate dean for global health. Oberhelman has conducted collaborations in Peru, Argentina, Kenya, and Cambodia, and has also led several key global health training programs over the past decade and a half.
Effective July 1, 2021, the Department of Global Community Health and Behavioral Sciences (GCHB) will be divided into two departments to better serve students and better align the teaching faculty. The two new departments will be the Department of International Health and Sustainable Development and the Department of Social, Behavioral, and Population Sciences.
The dean announced the shift at the end of the spring semester, the result of a year-long discussion involving department faculty and school leadership about the best path for the department’s future. Dr. David Hotchkiss currently serves as interim chair of GCHB in advance of the split.
Two more departments have undergone changes. In the Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Dr. Maureen Lichtveld stepped down as chair, with Dr. Chuck Miller stepping in as interim chair. Similarly, Dr. Mark Diana opted to return to the faculty, so Dr. Lizheng Shi is now serving as interim chair of the Department of Health Policy and Management. National searches for both roles are expected to launch in order to fill these roles in the next academic year.
