An epidemiologist and public health leader has been appointed associate professor of health policy and management and director of the Center for Health Equity (CHE) at the School of Public Health. She is Theresa Chapple-McGruder, PhD, MPH, who will assume her new role at Pitt on Aug. 1.
"I am incredibly thrilled to embark on this new journey,” said Chapple-McGruder. “This opportunity allows me to further my commitment to advancing health equity and fostering impactful research and education. I look forward to collaborating with colleagues, students, and the community to drive meaningful change and promote health equity."
“We are excited to welcome Dr. Chapple-McGruder as the new CHE director,” said associate director Dara Mendez, PhD, MPH, associate professor of epidemiology and a center associate director. “She is an innovative leader, scholar and advocate for health equity and justice.”
Chapple-McGruder most recently served as director of the Oak Park (Ill.) Department of Public Health, where she was instrumental in coordinating the Chicago metropolitan area community’s COVID-19 pandemic response.
“She brings decades of experience in applied and governmental public health, practice, education, health equity science and research,” said Tiffany Gary-Webb, PhD, MHS, professor of epidemiology and also a center associate director. “We look forward to moving the center forward under her direction while building upon the 30-year history of CHE and its predecessor, the Center for Minority Health.”
Chapple-McGruder earned her PhD in epidemiology and maternal and child health at the University of Illinois at Chicago in 2009 after completing an MPH in maternal and child health at the Gillings School of Global Public Health at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
She has led major maternal and child health initiatives for the Health Resources and Services Administration, the Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs, and the Georgia Department of Health, where she served as director of the Office of Maternal and Child Health. Chapple-McGruder has coauthored several important peer-reviewed manuscripts, book chapters and reports focusing primarily on public health workforce development and inequities in maternal and child health outcomes.
“The combination of these skills and experiences position Dr. Chapple-McGruder to contribute both to the department’s education, research and service missions and to the Center for Health Equity,” said Julie Donohue, PhD, professor and chair of the Department of Health Policy and Management.
-Michele Baum