William T. Small Jr., MSPH

William T. Small received a BS degree in chemistry (1965) from North Carolina Central University, Durham, NC, and an MSPH degree (1969) from the Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering at the School of Public Health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC). From 1969-71, he was employed by the North Carolina State Board of Health (currently the Department of Health and Human Services), in Raleigh, NC, as an occupational health chemist in the Epidemiology Division, Occupational Health Section. He came to the UNC SPH as Coordinator of Minority Affairs in November 1971 with a charge to increase minority student enrollment in graduate degree programs within the School. He served as Assistant Dean for Students and then Associate Dean for Students, retiring from the School of Public Health in March 1999 as Associate Dean and Senior Advisor for Multicultural Affairs.

During his tenure at UNC-CH, Dean Small was active in numerous activities and programs with faculty, students and staff and received various awards and recognitions, including Appreciation Awards from the SPH Minority Student Caucus (in 1973, 1978, 1980, 1983, 1986, 1990, 1993, and 1996) and an Outstanding Service Award from the SPH Student Body in 1984. In 1984 he was appointed to the North Carolina Environmental Management Commission by Governor James B. Hunt for a four-year term. At the University level, Dean Small was recognized as Student Organization Advisor of the Year for 1992-93 and received the Harvey Elliot Beech Award from the UNC Black Alumni in September 1993 for outstanding achievement by a UNC-CH alumnus. In April 1999, Dean Small was honored with the C. Knox Massey Award, including a $5,000 honorarium, for Unusual, Meritorious, and Superior Service to the University of North Carolina. Nationally, he was recognized by the Black Caucus of Health Workers of the American Public Health Association with the Award for Outstanding Health Service to the Minority Community at its Annual meeting in 1990.

For several years, Dean Small served as visiting professor at North Carolina Central University (NCCU) and St. Augustine’s College (Raleigh). Dean Small and the late Roamless Hudson, a colleague at St. Augustine’s and fellow SPH alumnus, established what became the first undergraduate program in industrial hygiene and safety at a historically black institution of higher learning. Dean Small maintains an active role in local community health issues, serving as vice-chairman of the Durham County Board of Health and on the Board of an organization dedicated to serving homeless individuals and families in Durham County, Housing for New Hope.

Presently, Dean Small is a faculty member in the Department of Health Education at NCCU where he teaches courses in personal health and environmental health and coordinates the Minority Aging Project. He also serves as assistant golf coach at NCCU in the Department of Athletics. He and his wife Rosa are the parents of two adult daughters.