| Awards and recognitions |
| May 27, 2011 | |
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SCHOOL  In its 2012 "best graduate schools" issue, U.S. News and World Report ranked the Gillings School of Global Public Health the top public school of public health and second in the nation among all schools of public health. In additional rankings, the School's health policy and management department was rated #3 for its master's degree program in health care management, and the environmental sciences and engineering department tied for #11 for environment/environmental health. The Public Health Leadership Program's community/public health clinical nurse specialty was ranked #3, and its public health nursing program tied for #11.  Dennis Gillings, PhD In November 2010, UNC-Chapel Hill's board of trustees honored Dennis Gillings, PhD, CBE, as one of four recipients of the William Richardson Davie Award, the board's highest honor. Established by the trustees in 1984, the Davie Award is named for the Revolutionary War hero who is considered the father of the University. It recognizes extraordinary service to the University or society. In 2007, Dennis and Joan Gillings made the largest single commitment from an individual in University history -- $50 million to the School of Public Health, which was renamed the Gillings School of Global Public Health in their honor. FACULTY  Dr. Rebecca Fry Rebecca Fry, PhD, assistant professor
of environmental sciences and engineering,
was selected for two
prestigious awards recognizing
her potential
to advance science. Fry received the
Outstanding New
Environmental Scientist
(ONES) Award
from the National
Institute of Environmental
Health Sciences (NIEHS) of the
National Institutes of Health, which includes
a $2.2 million grant to study health effects
of prenatal arsenic exposure in Mexico.
She
also was named a PopTech Science and Public
Leadership Fellow. PopTech, an interdisciplinary group of
cutting-edge leaders, each year trains as
many as 20 scientists to become articulate
spokespersons for public health issues.
 Bob Greczyn, MPH Robert J. Greczyn Jr., retired chief executive
officer of Blue
Cross and Blue Shield
of North Carolina,
was named a Gillings
Visiting Professor,
effective Oct. 1, 2010. In this role, he provides guest lectures on insurance, health care and health care reform and serves as a policy adviser and resource for faculty members and students.
Greczyn earned a Master of Public Health degree in health policy and administration from UNC's public health school in 1981.
 Dr. Steven Zeisel Steven Zeisel, MD, PhD, director of the University of North Carolina's Nutrition Research Institute in Kannapolis and Kenan Distinguished Professor of nutrition, has received the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences' Falk Award.
Zeisel received the
award Oct. 4, 2010, at
an event in Research
Triangle Park, N.C.,
where he presented
the Hans L. Falk Memorial Lecture, "Nutrigenomics,
Estrogen and Environmental
Chemicals Influence the Dietary Requirement
for Choline."
 Dr. Mayer-Davis Elizabeth Mayer-Davis, PhD, was
named president of health care and education
for the American Diabetes Association
in January 2011. In this role, she will serve as primary spokesperson and advocate for the
association regarding clinical management of diabetes care principles.
Mayer-Davis' research has
focused upon diabetes prevention and management
and diabetes among minority and
under-served populations.  Dr. Bryce Reeve Bryce Reeve, PhD, associate professor of health policy and management, was elected president of the International Society for Quality of Life Research for a two-year term. The Society aims
to advance the scientific
study of patient-centered
outcomes
to identify effective
interventions and
enhance quality of
health care.
 Dr. Jamie Bartram Jamie Bartram, PhD, was elected to serve on NSF International's Council of Public Health Consultants, which advises NSF on the development of public health and environmental health initiatives.
Bartram, professor
of environmental sciences
and engineering
and director of The
Water Institute at UNC, has 28 years' environmental
and water sanitation experience
working in more than 50 countries. Read
more about Bartram (PDF).
 Dr. Bert Peterson Herbert Peterson, MD, Kenan Distinguished Professor and chair of the maternal and child health department, was selected as an honorary fellow of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists' (RCOG) Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare. He accepted the fellowship in London on Nov. 18, 2010.
Peterson chairs the American Congress
of Obstetricians and Gynecologists' (ACOG)
Global Women's Health Committee. ACOG,
RCOG's American counterpart, awarded
Peterson its Distinguished Service Award
in 2004.
 Dr. William Gray William G. Gray, PhD, professor of environmental sciences and engineering, presented the 2010 Langbein Lecture at the American Geophysical Union's fall meeting in San Francisco on Dec. 14, 2010. The Walter B. Langbein Lectureship is awarded for lifetime contributions to the basic science of hydrology and/ or unselfish service promoting cooperation in hydrologic research.
Gray's lecture described "Opportunities
for Impacting the Trajectory of Hydrologic
Model Development."
Paul wins UNC teaching award  Dr. John Paul John E. Paul, PhD, clinical associate professor of health policy and management, was recognized with UNC's distinguished teaching award for post-baccalaureate instruction. The award, first given in 1995 to acknowledge the importance of graduate- level teaching, includes a cash stipend and framed citation. Paul's citation praises his strong commitment as an educator, "evident in his innovative use of technology in the classroom, his continual efforts to adapt and improve his teaching, and his active advising and ongoing mentoring of students."  Dr. Greg Characklis Greg Characklis, PhD, associate professor of environmental sciences and engineering, was named one of 20 Leopold Leadership Fellows for 2011.
Based at Stanford
University's Woods
Institute for the Environment,
the Leopold
Leadership Program
annually selects 20 mid-career academic
environmental researchers as fellows. Awardees
receive intensive leadership and communications
training to help them engage
effectively with policymakers, journalists,
business leaders and communities confronting
complex decisions about sustainability
and the environment.
 Dr. Laura Linnan Laura Linnan, ScD, associate professor of health behavior and health education, was awarded the 2011 Robert E. Bryan Public Service Award in April 2011. A graduate of Harvard University, Linnan has been on the faculty of the UNC public health school and a member of UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center since 1999. Her 25-year career in public health has focused on the promotion of health in the workplace, including programs that help low-income workers lose weight and become healthier and that address health disparities among African- Americans and Latinos.  Dr. William Zelman Professor William
Zelman, PhD, was
honored with the
School's Bernard G.
Greenberg Alumni
Endowment Award,
presented March 31,
2011, at the School's
Fred T. Foard Jr.
Memorial Lecture.
A
member of the health policy and management
faculty since 1978, Zelman was recognized for
excellence in teaching, research and service.  Dr. Alice Ammerman Alice Ammerman, DrPH, nutrition
professor and director of the UNC
Center for Health Promotion and Disease
Prevention, received the 2011 Ned Brooks Award
for Public Service.
A
public health faculty
member since 1991,
Ammerman was
honored for creating
lasting and collaborative
relationships that
result in broad service
to the community.
According to nominators, she "embodies
excellence in public service through her
sustained dedication to ensuring improved
health for all North Carolinians."
STUDENTS Gillings Merit Scholarships awarded Ten graduate students have received the inaugural Gillings Student Merit Scholarships. They are Pratyaydipta Rudra (biostatistics); Maura C. Allaire (environmental sciences and engineering); Kapuaola Gellert (epidemiology); Jennifer Moore Moss (health behavior and health education); Sarah B. Lesesne and Vann R. Newkirk (health policy and management); Alane Murdock Kasrawi (maternal and child health); Eva Erber (nutrition); and Heidi A. Harkins and Fiona A. Hahn (Public Health Leadership Program). Student chosen as Phillips Ambassador William K. "Keith" Funkhouser III, a double major in biology and biostatistics at the School, is one of eight UNC undergraduates who studied in Asia as Phillips Ambassadors in spring 2011. Funkhouser was based at the National University of Singapore with the Honors-University Scholars Exchange Program.  Yu Zhou Yu Zhou, a UNC sophomore accepted into the School's Bachelor of Science in Public Health (BSPH) program next fall, was named a winner in the 2011 Davis Projects for Peace initiative.
Zhou, who will study biostatistics, developed
Young Scholars International, a program
that will allow UNC undergraduates
studying abroad to enrich their experience
by leading high school seminars in the countries
they visit. Shuaiqing Liu, admitted into
the BSPH program next fall in health policy
and management, will work with Zhou. Five win UNC's Impact Awards Five public health students received
the UNC Graduate School's Impact Award,
established to recognize student research
that improves the lives of North Carolinians.
The students are
STAFF  Dr. Rachel Stevens Rachel H. Stevens, EdD, RN, received
the Ronald H.
Levine Legacy
Award on Jan.
28, 2011, at the
annual N.C. State
Health Director's
Conference in
Raleigh, N.C.
Stevens, former
clinical professor
and senior adviser to the director of the
School's North Carolina Institute for
Public Health, retired in 2008 after 20
years of service.  Janet Place, MPH Janet Place, MPH, director of the N.C.
Institute for Public Health's Southeast Public
Health Training Center, received the
Theodore R. Ervin Award for Outstanding
Service at the American Public Health
Association's annual meeting in Denver
on Nov. 9, 2011.
The award, presented by
the national Public Health Foundation,
recognizes creative vision, commitment and
leadership in public health practice. ALUMNI  Dr. Jean Orelien Jean Orelien, DrPH, president and chief executive officer of SciMetrika LLC in Durham, N.C., and UNC biostatistics alumnus, has been selected as one of 2010's "Top 10 Black Entrepreneurs" by Inc. magazine. The magazine delivers advice, tools and services to help business owners start, run and grow their businesses more successfully.
Orelien founded SciMetrika in 2001 to
support projects that improve public health. Inc. magazine also featured Orelien for
philanthropic efforts in his native Haiti in
its September 2010 issue.  Dr. Peter Kolsky Peter J. Kolsky, PhD, senior water and sanitation specialist with the World Bank, received the Harriet Hylton Barr Distinguished Alumni Award for leadership, collaboration and innovation in public health, impact in practice and outstanding service.
The award was announced at the School's
Fred T. Foard Jr. Memorial Lecture on
Yu Zhou March 31, 2011. Carolina Public Health is a publication of the University of
North Carolina at Chapel Hill Gillings School of Global Public Health.
To view previous issues, please visit www.sph.unc.edu/cph.
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| Last updated June 07, 2011 |