Gillings School Committees and Councils
About
The work of Gillings School committees and councils is guided by our vision, driven by our mission, in keeping with our values and supportive of our goals. (See Gillings Guiding Statements.) The lists below incorporate links to pages for current schoolwide standing and ad hoc committees. Questions? Contact Rhesia Lewis, assistant director of Dean’s Office operations.
Standing Committees
Standing committees, councils or boards exist as an ongoing part of the School’s organizational structure to fulfill purposes that are not time-limited in nature. Schoolwide standing committees may contain within them standing and/or ad hoc subcommittees or work groups.
The Academic Programs Committee (APC) has schoolwide responsibility for academic standards and policies and acts as a liaison between the Gillings School, the UNC Graduate School and the UNC Office of Undergraduate Curricula. The Senior Associate Dean for Academic and Student Affairs chairs the committee, and representatives from each department are selected by the chair of that department in consultation with the Senior Associate Dean. Additionally, staff members from Academic and Student Affairs serve on the committee.
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Led by the associate dean for finance, the accounting group addresses accounting processes and procedures.
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BSPH Admissions Committees:
There is a separate admissions committee for each BSPH major – biostatistics, environmental health sciences, health policy and management, and nutrition -- as each major has differing admissions criteria. BSPH Admissions Committees are made up of BSPH program leads and key faculty within the home departments (BIOS, ESE, HPM, NUTR).
MPH Program Admissions Committees:
There is a separate admissions committee for each MPH concentration, including year-round admissions for online MPH@UNC program concentrations.
Other Master’s Program Admissions Committees:
For the MHA, MS, MSCR, MSEE and MSPH degree programs, admissions committees are made up of faculty in the home department, selected by the department chair.
Doctoral Admissions Committees in each department are made up of faculty committee members selected by the department chair.
The UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health's Advisory Council features a team of distinguished leaders, executives and friends from across North Carolina and the United States who provide strategic input to the leadership of the Gillings School. The Council is facilitated through Gillings Advancement.
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The Alumni Association Advisory Board is made up of dedicated alumni who serve as ambassadors for the Gillings School.
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The APT Committee meets regularly, on a monthly basis to review appointment, reappointment or promotion actions that meet the criteria necessitating an assessment, as outlined in the APT Manual. Members of the APT Committee represent various academic disciplines within the School and are appointed by the dean for three-year terms.
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The BSPH Council oversees each of Gillings’ four BSPH programs. Members of Academic Affairs and Student Affairs liaison with the group.
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The Business Managers Committee is led by the associate dean for finance to address departmental budgeting matters.
The Gillings School of Global Public Health’s Chairs Committee consists of department chairs and the dean, vice dean, senior associate dean for academic and student affairs and associate dean for research.
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The UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health COI Committee seeks to identify and manage, reduce, or eliminate conflicts of interest that arise out of research and entrepreneurial endeavors related to our investigator’s many institutional activities for the purpose of preserving transparency, fostering independent decision-making, protecting research subjects, and ensuring integrity of the educational experience.
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The Dean’s Council is broadly representative of academic and administrative leadership of the Gillings School and includes: the dean; department chairs, the vice dean; all assistant and associate deans; directors of programs and units that serve all parts of the Gillings School; and representatives of student government and the Minority Student Caucus.
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The Evaluation Committee includes key academic and administrative leaders who can guide development of Gillings Evaluation Plan and are responsible for reviewing data and implementing CQI for areas they lead.
The Faculty Advisory Council (FAC) will provide a structure and mechanism for the dean to reach out to faculty representatives from across Gillings for advice on emerging issues. This council will also provide Gillings faculty with a structure and mechanism to share with the dean insights and counsel on issues they face as faculty (rather than, for example, department-specific issues).
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The Inclusive Excellence Council (IEC), was established in Fall 2019 to address recruitment, retention, success and satisfaction of the very best faculty, staff and students within the context of public health education. The Council is comprised of faculty, staff and students from across the School.
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The Minority Student Caucus Executive Board is comprised of elected co-presidents and leaders for key roles (secretary; co-treasurers; education and community action; taking responsibility to increase access and diversity; social chair; publicity chair; MSC co-chairs) and a faculty advisor. Co-presidents serve on Dean’s Council and also are liaisons from students to the dean regarding significant emerging issues. Read More.
The MPH Steering Committee is a consensus development, decision-making governing body that ensures completion of key tasks that relate to our meeting/exceeding all CEPH requirements for the MPH degree.
Greg Bocchino, EdD, Senior Executive Director, Academic Advising and Student Affairs
bocchino@email.unc.edu
Linnea Carlson, PhD, MPH, UNC-Asheville-UNC Gillings Master of PH Program
lcarlso1@unca.edu
Elizabeth Chen, PhD, MPH, Associate Professor, HB; Concentration Lead, Health Behavior
lizcchen@unc.edu
Albert Chow, Distance Student Representative, Place-Based Health
albertc@unc.edu
Jacey Dullum, Academic Support Coordinator
jaceyhd@unc.edu
Jonathan Earnest, MA, Director, Admissions
earnestj@email.unc.edu
Cindy Feltner, MD, MPH, Asst Professor, Internal Medicine; Concentration Lead, Population Health for Clinicians
cindy_feltner@med.unc.edu
Michera Gentry, Online Student Representative, Epidemiology
gmichera@live.unc.edu
Erin Henesy, Academic Affairs Coordinator
ehen@unc.edu
Gemma Herrera, MEd, Coordinator of Diversity Programs and Recruitment
ggherrer@unc.edu
Precious Ikejiaku, Residential Student Representative, Maternal and Child Health
pikejiak@unc.edu
Meg Landfried, MPH, Associate Professor, Health Behavior; Director, MPH Practicum
landfried@unc.edu
Laura Linnan, ScD, Senior Associate Dean for Academic and Student Affairs; Professor, Health Behavior
linnan@email.unc.edu
Suzanne Maman, PhD, Professor, Health Behavior; Associate Dean for Global Health
maman@email.unc.edu
Musa Manga, PhD, Assistant Professor, Environmental Sciences and Engineering
mmanga@email.unc.edu
Aimee McHale, JD, Assistant Professor, Public Health Leadership and Practice; Concentration Lead, PHLP
ammchale@email.unc.edu
Cassie Nakamoto, MPH, Residential MPH Program Coordinator
cnaka@email.unc.edu
Kavita Ongechi, PhD, Associate Professor, Maternal and Child Health; Concentration Lead, Maternal, Child and Family Health Concentration
singhk@email.unc.edu
Dana Rice, DrPH, Assistant Dean, Master’s Degree Programs; Associate Professor, Public Health Leadership and Practice
danarice@unc.edu
Amanda Sawyer, MS, RD, Associate Professor, Nutrition
amanda_holliday@unc.edu
Todd Schwartz, DrPH, Professor and Associate Chair, Biostatistics
tschwart@email.unc.edu
Ilene Speizer, PhD, Professor, Maternal and Child Health
speizer@email.unc.edu
John Sugg, MS, Program Coordinator, MPH@UNC
johnsugg@unc.edu
Sarah Thach, MPH, Assistant Professor, Public Health Leadership and Practice; Concentration Lead, Place Based Health Concentration; Co-Director, UNC-Asheville-UNC Gillings Master of PH Program
sarah.thach@unc.edu
Karla Townley-Tilson, MBA, Director, MPH Program
kttilson@unc.edu
Kimberly Truesdale, PhD, Associate Professor, Nutrition; Concentration Lead, MPH in Nutrition
Kim_Truesdale@unc.edu
Adia Ware, MS, Assistant Director for Academic Advising
aware@unc.edu
John Wiesman, DrPH, associate dean for practice; professor of the practice, HPM
wiesman@email.unc.edu
Courtney Woods, PhD, Associate Professor, Environmental Sciences and Engineering; Concentration Lead, Environment, Climate and Health
cgwoods@email.unc.edu
Minzhi Xing, MD, MPH, Assistant Professor, Public Health Leadership and Practice
Minzhi.Xing@unc.edu
Karin Yeatts, PhD, Professor, Epidemiology; MPH Concentration Lead, Applied Epidemiology
kyeatts@email.unc.edu
Ciara Zachary, MPH, PhD, Assistant Professor, Health Policy and Management; MPH Concentration Lead, Health Policy and Management
zciara@email.unc.edu
Baiming Zou, PhD, Associate Professor, Biostatistics
bzou@email.unc.edu
The Gillings School’s Practice Advisory Committee was established in 2016 and has consisted of experienced leaders from public health, as well as those in public and private enterprises with relevance to public health. The committee aims to convene quarterly and focuses on strengthening the School’s connections to practice to better address the challenges faced in improving the health of North Carolinians and beyond.
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Faculty and staff representatives from each academic unit, NCIPH and key CAUs; student representatives from Student Government; Minority Student Caucus; and Student Global Health Committee.
The Public Health Foundation Board is primarily composed of alumni selected on a basis their high-level of engagement with the Gillings School. It is facilitated through Gillings Advancement.
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The Research Council plans strategic research initiatives and revenue strategies; develops early‐career faculty; enhances the connection of research to training, teaching, service; advises on research goals, objectives and metrics; conducts grant review processes for Gillings Innovation Labs and limited‐submission opportunities; serves as a sounding board for the formulation of large research proposals; serves as “audience” for practice pitches and other strategic presentations; and provides feedback on new research information systems, communication tactics and other research tools. The Council is co-led by the associate dean for research and senior director for research, and includes one faculty member from each Gillings department.
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The Staff Advisory Council (SAC) will provide a structure and mechanism for the Vice Dean to reach out to staff representatives from across Gillings for advice on emerging issues. This council will also provide Gillings staff with a structure and mechanism to share with the Vice Dean insights and counsel on issues they face as staff.
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The Student Government Association Executive Board is comprised of elected co-presidents (one representing graduate students and one representing undergraduate students) and leaders for key roles (treasurer; lead events coordinator; co-events coordinators; graphic designer; fundraising coordinator; and department representatives. Co-presidents serve on Dean’s Council and also are liaisons from students to the dean regarding significant emerging issues. Read More.
The Weekly Review, Assessment and Planning (WRAP) Team serves as an advisory group in support of the dean and vice dean on matters related to academics, operations, communications and facilities, to name a few. Led by the vice dean, the team meets bi-weekly.
Ad Hoc Committees
Ad hoc committees at the Gillings School typically are:
- Taskforces or other committees created by Gillings School leadership (e.g., the dean) to address specific projects that bridge multiple standing committees, councils, departments and topics; they are disbanded upon completion of their work. Examples include the Practice Strategic Plan Task Force (2021-23), the Research Strategic Plan Task Force (2023-24), and the Inclusive Excellence Strategic Plan Task Force (2024).
- Work groups created by a standing committee/council with an end in mind to accomplish a specific project as part of that committee/council. They disband when the work is complete. Examples include: the Faculty/Staff Affairs work group (spring 2024); student mentoring work group (2023-24).
