After 17 years of service, the dean of UNC’s Gillings School of Global Public Health has announced she will step down from her position in the next year.
Dr. Barbara K. Rimer will conclude her service as dean on June 30, 2022. According to campus leadership, she will remain on the school’s faculty, where she started as an adjunct associate professor in 1992.
Rimer began her service as dean in 2005, making her the public health school’s longest-serving dean, as well as the first woman and behavioral scientist to serve in the role. In 2008, she was elected to the National Academy of Medicine — one of the highest achievements in science, public health and medicine. Rimer has also served as chair of the President’s Cancer Panel under two U.S. presidents.
Dr. Barbara Rimer, Dean of UNC’s Gillings School of Global Public Health. (Photo via UNC)
In a letter to the campus community, UNC Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz wrote: “Her commitment to innovative research, academics and practice, as well as inclusive excellence and service, have guided her leadership priorities, aligning with Gillings’ mission to improve public health, promote individual well-being, and eliminate health inequities across the state and around the world.”
Under her leadership, the Gillings school was ranked as the number one public school of public health multiple times by U.S. News & World Report. The Gillings school also ranks number one among public health schools in funding from the National Institutes of Health, and faculty members have received more than $1 billion in research since 2013, according to university officials.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Guskiewicz wrote that Rimer “redoubled her commitment to the well-being of Gillings and Carolina community members” by amplifying fact-based health communications and supporting the expansion of the school’s student emergency relief fund.
“After she steps down as dean, we know she will continue advocating for better health for all,” said Guskiewicz.
A new committee has been appointed by the chancellor and provost to oversee the search for a new dean in the coming months – including Dr. William L. Roper, a former Gillings dean and former CEO of UNC Health and Dr. Giselle Corbie-Smith, a Kenan Distinguished Professor in the departments of medicine and social medicine.
“We are confident that this search committee, under Bill and Giselle’s leadership, will help identify an outstanding dean to continue Gillings’ longstanding success,” said Guskiewicz.
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