Gillings School announces new Department of Public Health Leadership and Practice, new NCIPH director

December 7, 2023

Faculty and staff from the Public Health Leadership Program

Leadership at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health has announced the launch of a new Department of Public Health Leadership and Practice (PHLP). This department will unite two current units, the Public Health Leadership Program and the North Carolina Institute for Public Health (NCIPH), with the goal of strengthening and elevating the scholarship of leadership and practice at the Gillings School.

“The Department of Public Health Leadership and Practice will be a department without walls that will provide current and future public health leaders with the skills and knowledge that can make a direct impact on communities,” said Nancy Messonnier, MD, dean and Bryson Distinguished Professor in Public Health.

The new department will:

• Continue training students in the Master of Public Health (MPH) degree concentrations of place-based health (a joint degree with UNC Asheville), population health for clinicians, leadership in practice and global health;
• Continue offering certificates in global health, field epidemiology and public health leadership;
• Jointly offer the Executive Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) degree in health leadership with the Department of Health Policy and Management in 2025; and
• Continue and expand the work of NCIPH, with its mission to “collaboratively lead and foster innovative solutions to public health challenges in North Carolina and beyond” by “creating systems, policies and programs that work for all.” NCIPH will continue its current work and expand to be the platform for implementing the priority initiatives within the School’s new practice strategic plan.

Dr. Amy Lanou

Amy Joy Lanou, PhD, was recently named the new director of NCIPH and professor in PHLP, bringing extensive experience in public health and community practice through her long-time work with the North Carolina Center for Health and Wellness at UNC Asheville and the Mountain Area Health Education Center in Western N.C.

Lanou was a tenured professor of nutrition in UNC Asheville’s Department of Health and Wellness and served as chair of that department from July 2014 to January 2020. She also served as the UNC Asheville lead for the joint UNC Asheville – UNC Gillings MPH concentration in place-based health.

Dr. Anna Schenck

Anna Schenck, PhD, has been named the inaugural chair of the Department of Public Health Leadership and Practice. Schenck has led the Public Health Leadership Program for 14 years and previously directed NCIPH for 6 years. Schenck, who will retire in 2024, will work with a small steering committee to assist with the transition and will focus her efforts on the foundational steps of creating the organizational structure and budget and ensuring continuity of operations for both units.

Gillings School leadership will conduct an internal search for the next chair, ensuring that the new department’s foundations will leverage talent and practices from across the School.

Please join the Gillings School community in celebrating this important milestone!

Contact the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health communications team at sphcomm@unc.edu.