HBHE Faculty Garner Awards in 2005
| May 13, 2005 | |
| Springtime at UNC brings Carolina blue skies, blooming flowers, March Madness (with a legendary season this year!), and a raft of awards for HBHE. Three faculty members – assistant professor Deb Tate, Alumni Distinguished Professor Barbara Rimer, and professor and chair Jo Anne Earp – were only the latest on HBHE’s award winning roster.The Society of Behavioral Medicine (SBM), in particular, seems bent on recognizing HBHE talent. Deb Tate, who joined the HBHE faculty this past fall, recently received word that she was being recognized with the SBM’s Early Career Honorary Recognition Award. Conferred on scholars who have held their doctoral degrees seven or fewer years, this award is based on a researcher’s total career achievement in the field of behavioral medicine. As this year’s SBM awardee, she was recognized for her innovative work in developing interventions that use the Internet as a foundation for delivering behavioral counseling to people seeking to lose weight. The good news about Deb is all the more welcome given that only three years ago associate professor Laura Linnan was the one to receive the prestigious SBM award.
Barbara Rimer received the 2004 Healthtrac Foundation Award for Health Education. This national award, which was presented at the annual meeting of the Society of Public Health Education in Washington, D.C., recognizes a health educator who has made a substantial contribution to advancing the field of health education or health promotion through research, program development or program delivery. Barbara’s nominator for the award, Dr. Michael Eriksen, professor and director at Georgia State University’s Institute of Public Health, explains why her work has been so significant. “Dr. Rimer is one of the rare individuals who makes a difference in discovery and dissemination. The health of the nation has directly benefited from her commitment and dedication.” The Healthtrac Foundation is a nonprofit corporation whose mission is to identify and honor individuals whose achievements have made the greatest contribution to the public’s health. Finally, Jo Anne Earp learned recently that she received the 2005 School of Public Health’s John E. Larsh, Jr. Award for Mentorship. This highly competitive award, conferred only once every-other year, recognizes an SPH faculty member’s lifetime mentoring efforts with students. “I wish you could have seen Jo Anne’s nomination package,” said Janice Periquet, Director of Alumni Affairs for the School. “I’ve never seen anything like it. Letters poured in from faculty, current and former students, staff members and alumni from around the country. They all testified to how instrumental Jo Anne had been in their lives. It was remarkable to see just how far-reaching her influence has been.” In other good news, HBHE faculty members Laura Linnan and Kurt Ribisl were both recently promoted to the rank of associate professor with tenure. Way to go, HBHE faculty! For further information please contact Catherine Vorick either by phone at 919-966-3918 or by email at cvorick@email.unc.edu |
