Edith Parker, Gillings alumna, named dean of UI College of Public Health
May 24, 2018
Edith Parker, DrPH, professor and chair of the University of Iowa Department of Community and Behavioral Health, has been named dean of the UI College of Public Health. She will begin on June 1.
Parker, a two-time alumna of the Gillings School of Global Public Health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, studied in the Department of Health Behavior (MPH ’89, DrPH ‘95).
She will be the third dean of UI’s College of Public Health, which was founded in 1999.
Parker has been professor and chair of the Department of Community and Behavioral Health since joining the UI faculty in 2010; she also has a faculty appointment with the UI Public Policy Center. In addition, Parker directs the UI Prevention Research Center for Rural Health, one of 26 applied public health research centers funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
She also serves as associate director for community engaged research in the UI Institute for Clinical and Translational Science and is the director of community outreach and engagement for the UI Environmental Health Sciences Research Center.
Parker’s research focuses on the design, implementation and evaluation of community health promotion interventions to improve health status and reduce racial disparities in health. She is an expert in community-based participatory research, which emphasizes the active involvement of community members in all aspects of the research process. Her expertise also includes translating and disseminating research findings for program and policy change.
“I look forward to seeing Edith at future meetings with deans of schools of public health,” said Barbara K. Rimer, DrPH, dean of the Gillings School. “I know that her record of success as a top researcher, educator and leader will make Edith an exceptional dean.”
This article is based on the original announcement published by the University of Iowa.
Contact the Gillings School of Global Public Health communications team: sphcomm@listserv.unc.edu