Deborah Stroman, PhD, CLU

Adjunct Professor

Department of Health Behavior

Director

LINEBERGER COMPREHENSIVE CANCER CENTER

Director

Carolina Sport Business Club

Entrepreneur-in-Residence

American Underground

(919) 966-3761

dstro@unc.edu

362 Rosenau Hall

CB #7440

Chapel Hill, NC 27599

USA

Personal Website LinkedIn Profile

About

Dr. Deborah Stroman, former full professor who specializes in leadership and strategy as applied to the domain of health equity in the United States, serves as an advisor to the Gillings community. Prior to joining Gillings, she was a Clinical Associate Professor at Kenan-Flagler Business School providing instruction and service to students related to organizational behavior and the examination of the vast sport business industry.

Dr. Stroman has more than three decades of extensive experience working with senior administrators, faculty, staff, students, and alumni on leadership and equity issues. As an entrepreneur, she enjoys consulting and teaching on matters of leadership and race and racism education to numerous organizations including the University of Virginia, Lineberger Cancer Center, the North Carolina Cancer Hospital, National Institutes of Health, R1 academic institutions, Fortune 100 businesses, and non-profits. She is a national trainer with the Racial Equity Institute LLC. In addition, Dr. Stroman is the founder of the Center of Sport Business and Analytics, which is purposed to connect with and advocate for people and organizations creating equity, impact, and value in the sport industry. In this capacity, she serves as the project coordinator of the national Black Men’s Brain Health initiative with the Dr. Robert Turner lab at The George Washington University, Alzheimer’s Association, National Institute of Aging, and NFL Alumni Association.

She is a president emeritus of the UNC Black Faculty and Staff Caucus and has been recognized for teaching, service, and entrepreneurship collaborations. Along with former professor Dr. Geni Eng, Dr. Stroman co-designed and taught the EQUITY graduate core course, “Leading for Racial Equity: Examining Structural Issues of Race and Class.” This unique and comprehensive experience propelled similar instruction and educational focus across the entire campus and beyond. She served as a co-instructor of the very popular (~ 270,000 enrollments) Coursera “Positive Psychology” course. Dr. Stroman is Coach, HAVEN, Mental Health (First Aid), and Safe Zone trained and certified.

Teaching Interests

Dr. Stroman is a guest lecturer in numerous UNC schools and departments; she speaks on topics ranging from leadership and organizational behavior to racial equity, health disparities and entrepreneurship. She also has experience with online curriculum design and instruction.

Research Activities

Interests

- Leadership
- Social Issues in Sport
- Health Disparities

Service Activities

Dr. Stroman is active across campus, serving on many University committees and special projects. She is one of the founding professors for the campus-wide entrepreneurship minor. Dr. Stroman is the 2021 NAACP State of North Carolina Woman of the Year, recipient of the 2018 Salute to Champions Award for community service (Capitol Broadcasting/Deloitte), 2013 General Alumni Association Harvey E. Beech Outstanding Faculty/Staff Award, and the 2013 The Class of 1996 Award for Advising Excellence. She is also the past chairperson of the Orange County Human Relations Commission and a member of the university's highest and oldest honorary society, The Order of the Golden Fleece.

Staff/Administrative Duties

- Informal research advice
- Equity Educator and liaison for faculty, administration and students

Education

PhD, Business (Leadership and Organizational Leadership), Capella University, 2007
MA, Sport Administration, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 1986
BS, History and Social Studies Education, University of Virginia, 1982

Deborah Stroman, PhD, CLU