The Rutgers School of Public Health announced that Dr. Deanna Kerrigan will join the school as vice dean on Nov. 1. In addition, she will serve as the Henry J. Rutgers Chair of Whole Person Health and a professor in the Department of Health, Behavior, Society and Policy. She will also be the inaugural director of a new center focused on promoting whole-person health at the school.
“I am honored to be joining the Rutgers School of Public Health as vice dean,” said Kerrigan. “I look forward to closely collaborating and partnering with the faculty, staff and students to ensure and strengthen the impact and growth of the school, and to supporting and furthering the school’s commitment to a rights-based approach to public health in this critical moment.”
Kerrigan’s research has examined how psychosocial and structural determinants impact the well-being and health of people in marginalized communities domestically and globally. She and her colleagues have developed numerous evidence-based, community-driven, multilevel interventions to improve interconnected health outcomes, including mental health and HIV-prevention outcomes.
“Dr. Kerrigan joins the school at a critical moment in history when public health is severely under attack,” said Perry N. Halkitis, dean of the Rutgers School of Public Health. “Her leadership, grantsmanship and commitment to the populations that she serves are perfectly aligned with the mission and vision of our school.
“Moreover, with Dr. Kerrigan as a partner, we will be able to explore many options for funding from both traditional and nontraditional sources to continue to grow our school in prominence and stature. I cannot be more thrilled and honored that Dr. Kerrigan has chosen to join us at the Rutgers School of Public Health.”
Dr. Kerrigan attained her doctoral degree in social and behavioral interventions from the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health within the Department of International Health. She was on faculty at Johns Hopkins University for more than 15 years in the departments of International Health and Health, Behavior and Society.
Most recently, Dr. Kerrigan was a professor and chair of the Department of Prevention and Community Health at the George Washington Milken Institute School of Public Health. Before that, she served as a professor at American University and directed the Center on Health, Risk and Society.
