Through the decades, the Gillings School has grown into the global research powerhouse it is today under the leadership of eight deans.
The UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health has been working to prevent disease and prolong life for more than 80 years. Today, the school trains the next generation of public health leaders, researchers and scholars and conducts research on the most challenging health issues of our time.
Through the decades, the Gillings School has grown into the global research powerhouse it is today under the leadership of eight deans.
Milton J. Rosenau
(1936-1946) Rosenau inspired many and brought the dream of a public health school to reality. He built strong infectious diseases programs, attracted hundreds of international students, and during his leadership, most faculty members served as consultants to developing world agencies.
Edward McGavran
(1947-1962) McGavran built a field station for training students and dramatically developed the school’s laboratory component — which became the Public Health Service’s Venereal Disease Laboratory. Faculty and students were active in North Carolina’s Good Health Campaign to improve the health of North Carolinians.
Fred Mayes
(1962-1972) Mayes was the first dean to prioritize diversity among students and faculty. He hired Bill Small to oversee recruitment from underrepresented communities and dealt with students’ increasing insistence that courses be relevant. The annual Minority Health Conference began during this time.
Bernard Greenberg
(1972-1982) Greenberg took the school to new heights, increasing federal funding and leading the school and the world into the modern era of clinical trials. He raised academic standards, reached out across the university and achieved the first step on the path to the much-needed new public health building.
Michel Ibrahim
(1982-1997) Ibrahim accomplished what had seemed impossible: securing a new building after years of overcrowding. He launched the school’s first strategic planning process, commissioned a history of the school’s first 50 years, promoted research collaborations and supported school-wide initiatives on health equity research.
William Roper
(1997-2004) Roper recommitted the school to practice and to N.C., strengthening its role in the policy arena. He brought outstanding people from diverse sectors onto advisory boards and led the school through the crisis period after September 11, 2001. He went on to become dean of the UNC School of Medicine, CEO of UNC Health and interim president of the UNC System.
Barbara K. Rimer
(2005-2022) is the school’s first female dean and its longest serving. Her commitment to innovative research, academics and practice, inclusive excellence, and service to N.C. and beyond guided her leadership priorities, aligning with the school’s mission to improve public health, promote individual well-being and eliminate health inequities.
Nancy Messonnier
(2022-present) joins the school during an exciting time of success; it is the number one public school of public health and second overall. An influential leader in public health at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, she has been involved in the development and implementation of a low-cost vaccine to prevent epidemic meningitis in Africa, in responding to the 2001 anthrax attacks, and in creating the COVID-19 vaccine implementation program.
