Meet the Dean

Barbara K. Rimer, DrPH, became the 10th dean of the University of North Carolina’s School of Public Health on June 1, 2005. She is the first woman and first behavioral scientist to lead the School.  Previously, Dr. Rimer served in a number of academic and government positions. From 1990-1997, she was a professor of community and family medicine at Duke University School of Medicine.  From 1997-2002, she served as the first director of the Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences at the National Cancer Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health. Most recently, she was the deputy director for population sciences at UNC’s Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center. Dr. Rimer will continue her appointment as alumni distinguished professor in the School of Public Health’s department of Health Behavior and Health Education. For more information on her background, please see her faculty profile. We asked Dean Rimer about her thoughts on public health and her priorities for the school. Why did you want to be Dean of UNC's School of Public Health? How critical is Public Health in general, and the school in particular, to people today? What is your top priority for the school? What are some of the most important challenges you face as dean? How would you describe your style? On a personal note, tell us a little about your family and your life outside the office. Anything else you'd like to add? Why did you want to be Dean of UNC’s School of Public Health? Rimer: There are few places in the world where people are working harder or smarter to improve the lives of millions than here – at the nation’s top-ranked school of public health at a public university. As long as I can remember, my overarching goal in life has been to make a difference in the world. I never wanted to be a dean, but in the last two years, I served on two dean search committees at UNC, and began to realize the potential impact of leading this wonderful school. While the UNC School of Public Health is a phenomenal institution, it is going to have to evolve to remain strong and to meet the emerging needs of populations in North Carolina and beyond. Specifically, my role will be to keep the school moving forward — whether that’s by leading, administering, mentoring, research advocacy, fund-raising, cheerleading or spreading the word about the incredible work being done here. (back to top) Q: How critical is Public Health in general, and the school in particular, to people today? Rimer: There are few things more important than health, and never has public health been more critical than it is today. Our scientists are conducting important research all over the world, research that will make the world safer and make people healthier. The work of our school’s faculty members and students throughout North Carolina and the United States is vital to our health and quality of life on many different levels—the environment, our longevity and the quality of our lives, the quality of health care delivered in this country, and so much more. Some people may not realize that public health focuses on people — people within populations. Thus, our impact can be huge because our knowledge and interventions can shift whole populations toward improved health. The research being conducted in our school and its application in communities can truly change the world: We are conducting research to understand the causes of obesity and developing evidence-based programs to fight obesity, especially among children, and get our society moving and active to turn the tide on the new epidemic of obesity. Our research in Malawi will help prevent malaria, a debilitating and sometimes deadly disease, at a critical time when the parasites that carry the disease are becoming immune to drug treatments.  Faculty members from our school are not only in Malawi, but all around the world. Studies througout our school are designed to understand why some groups, especially the poor and minorities, are more likely to develop and die from certain conditions, like cardiovascular disease, diabetes and HIV.  We then look for ways to alter this profile to reduce health disparities. SPH-led smog chamber studies of air quality show what will happen if we allow pollutants to remain in the atmosphere.  Studies like this can help us find better ways to protect the environment. The N.C. Institute of Public Health's incubators nurture voluntary partnerships among local health departments and public health stakeholders, particularly for undeserved countries.  Through these partnerships, we are working with the public health system to improve health for all North Carolinians. These are just a few examples, but they reflect some of our important commitments — to understand and overcome health disparities, to improve global health, to gain the knowledge and develop and apply effective interventions to fight the obesity epidemic in the U.S. and beyond. The list goes on and on. (back to top) Q: What is your top priority for the school? Rimer: I have several “top” priorities. Much is expected of a public school of public health, and there are many challenges in the world today. One of our top priorities must be to upgrade and update the way we communicate. We need to tell the stories about the outstanding accomplishments of our faculty, students and alumni — and put a human face on public health. Stories with a human face provide examples for students and applicants to the school, and help them learn more about what people in public health do. We have to find ways to disseminate our research — to actively translate research into practice in order to reduce the lag between discovery and its application. This is critical if society is to reap the benefits of our discoveries. And let’s face it, the more individuals, legislators, agencies and corporations know about the good work we do, the more likely they are to contribute to the school to further the research and to develop and implement policy initiatives to enhance the public’s health. As Federal and State dollars shrink, we need these investments not only to educate our students but also to continue to conduct cutting edge research, and to support the infrastructure that is essential for the school to function. (back to top) Q: What are some of the most important challenges you face as dean? Rimer: One of the first and most important challenges is to retire the building debt. We are going to pay a lot of interest on our building loan if we don’t pay the debt pretty quickly. And that money will come out of the operating expenses of our school, constraining our options to do other things. I hope everyone in the school and our supporters will be dedicated to helping achieve this goal. We also have a significant challenge to raise funds to support distinguished professorships, student scholarships, and to provide funds for new initiatives. I am especially concerned about the need to raise money to support needy students who might want to come here but who have insufficient resources to pay for their educations. Raising money for the building comes at a time when National Institutes of Health and Centers for Disease Control budgets will be flat or declining. Many of us have lived through this before, and I am confident that we will survive and thrive. But we have to work smarter, if not harder. We are now costing out some alternative scenarios to examine how best to improve our capacity to be even more successful in obtaining competitive grant and contract support. Another immediate challenge will be to hire and retain the best faculty we can. We also must assure that the school and university continue to be environments in which the best faculty members want to work. In addition, there is an urgent need to enhance the diversity of the school’s faculty and student body. This is one of my highest priorities. We also must enhance interdisciplinary teaching and learning. Our students will be working in worlds that are inherently interdisciplinary. (back to top) Q: How would you describe your style? Rimer:  I am approachable and open. I like to hear about projects people are working on. I value initiative and recognize that if people are to take risks, things don’t always work out as intended. I value people who are smart, no matter what their degrees, who work hard, are committed and are not afraid to speak up. A good way to reach me is through e-mail (brimer@unc.edu). I spend a considerable amount of time responding to e-mails — usually early in the morning or late at night. And I am delighted for people to send me press articles so I can do the best possible job of selling the research of our faculty and students. If you need to meet with me, please contact my office at 919-966-3215. (back to top)  Q: On a personal note, tell us a little about your family and your life outside the office. Rimer: I’m married to Bernard Glassman. Professionally, he develops and consults on new technologies in health communications. For several years, he has taught a course on new communications technologies at the Harvard School of Public Health. He and I have collaborated on a number of projects, primarily in tailored communication research. Our “children” are three magnificent Labs (Tofu, Tyler and Faulkner) who are the most wonderful distractions. I exercise about six days a week—running/walking, swimming in summer, lifting weights and Pilates. (I would like to do some walks with students and faculty as another means to get people together.) I also am an obsessive but fairly intuitive gardener. My parents, Joan and Irving Rimer, live in Fearrington, and we see them regularly but not enough. I have two sisters, Sara and Liz, both very talented, sister-in-law (April) and two brothers-in-law (Carl and George), three nieces (Julie, Kira and Thea) and a nephew (Paul). Nearly everyone in the family is in some way working in communication. (back to top)   Q: Anything else you’d like to add? Rimer: Being a dean is really about leading a team — team UNC-SPH. It comprises many people now in the school — students, staff and faculty members. But it is also the virtual team that includes our alumni and others in the public health community and beyond who care about the school and public health. And it includes the donors without whom we would have many fewer opportunities. I am very grateful to be leading a winning team, and I am grateful for the support of so many people in the School of Public Health who have offered tangible help, and especially, for the terrific dean’s office staff. (back to top)

Last updated April 04, 2008