Cline named interim director of NC Institute for Public Health
October 15, 2021
Dr. Steve Cline
The UNC-Chapel Hill Gillings School of Global Public Health leadership is pleased to announce that Steve Cline, DDS, MPH, will act as interim director of the North Carolina Institute for Public Health (NCIPH), effective October 1, 2021.
NCIPH’s role in public health practice is a critical component of the strategic planning process that is currently underway at the Gillings School. Cline will provide leadership and guidance in business development, strategic planning and organizational development. He will collaborate with Gillings School leadership to strengthen public health programs with an emphasis on serving North Carolina, and he will leave in place a blueprint for the next phase of NCIPH.
“As we look to strengthen our commitment to practice across the Gillings School, Dr. Cline brings tremendous strength in practice, knowledge about the practice in North Carolina and strong ties to the practice community,” said Barbara K. Rimer, DrPH, dean of the Gillings School.
Cline was previously the assistant secretary for health information technology in the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services (NC DHHS). He spent most of his career in public health and served as deputy state health director for NC DHHS, where he created division policies and priorities and supervised all programmatic areas of the Division of Public Health — including epidemiology, women’s and children’s health, chronic disease and injury prevention, oral health and public health preparedness.
If you have questions, please contact Amy Belflower Thomas (amy.b.thomas@unc.edu) regarding community assessment and strategy; Tiffany Farina (tiffany.farina@unc.edu) regarding finance and administration; and Rachel Wilfert (rachel.wilfert@unc.edu) regarding workforce training and education.
Contact the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health communications team at sphcomm@unc.edu.
