Tulane SPHTM Dean to Step Down June 2018

Dr. Pierre Buekens, MD, PhD, MPH, today announced that he will step down from his role as dean effective at the end of his current term in June 2018. Dr. Buekens has served as dean of the Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine since 2003. “We should be very proud of what we have achieved together since 2003,” Dr. Buekens said in an email to faculty and staff.

“We quickly reopened the school after Katrina and moved up in the U.S. News and World Report rankings since then. We had many new faculty and staff join us, we expanded and diversified our research portfolio, and we have created a vibrant new undergraduate program. We made the school truly global, linking domestic and international issues and solutions. I am convinced the school is well positioned to continue being successful and to play a significant role in improving public health around the globe.”

Dr. Buekens is an obstetrician and an epidemiologist who has been a leader of the global health movement among schools of public health and other disciplines. He currently serves as the chair of the board of directors for the Consortium of Universities for Global Health (CUGH). His research focuses on reproductive epidemiology, including neglected tropical diseases and pregnancy. At the conclusion of his third and final term, he plans to take a sabbatical before returning to Tulane’s faculty as the W.H. Watkins Professor of Epidemiology.