NYU today named Cheryl Healton as the inaugural Director of its Global Institute of Public Health and Dean of Global Public Health.

Healton Named Dean of NYU Global Public Health
NYU has named Cheryl Healton the inaugural Director of its Global Institute of Public Health and Dean of Global Public Health.

NYU today named Cheryl Healton -- who most recently has been the president and CEO of the American Legacy Foundation (which was created through the Master Settlement Agreement between the states’ attorneys general and the tobacco industry to reduce tobacco usage, especially among young people) -- as the inaugural Director of its Global Institute of Public Health and Dean of Global Public Health.

NYU President John Sexton said, “Public health has emerged as one of the most exciting, fastest growing, and important areas of scholarship in higher education. Last March, we established the NYU Global Institute of Public Health to spur new research opportunities and collaborations for our faculty whose work intersects with public health across our schools, and to provide a platform for our emerging undergraduate public health majors, and our MPH and doctoral program in public health. It is a great validation of our efforts to be able to attract someone of Cheryl’s caliber to this assignment. We are delighted to have her at NYU.

“I want to thank the Search Committee for its excellent work in identifying a candidate as strong and well suited for this job as Cheryl. And I want to welcome her warmly to the NYU community.”

Executive Vice President for Health Robert Berne said, “To lead this new effort, we knew we would need someone truly exceptional – a person with a strong record of scholarship, on-the-ground experience in the public health field, proven administrative skills, and the kind of entrepreneurial instincts that are so crucial to making a start-up enterprise a success. And in Cheryl we have identified just such a person. She comes to us with an outstanding record, and we are very gratified to have her. “

The NYU Global Institute of Public Health crosses disciplinary boundaries to address the world’s most pressing health problems. It delivers interdisciplinary public health education at the undergraduate, master’s and doctoral level; supports cutting-edge and collaborative research on public health issues around the world; and draws strength from the global reach of NYU’s unique Global Network University and NYU’s many talented faculty.

In addition to her roles as director of NYU’s Global Institute of Public Health and Dean of Global Public Health, Dr. Healton will have an academic appointment in NYU’s Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service.

Prior to joining NYU, Dr. Healton has served as president and CEO of the American Legacy Foundation since 1999 and was on the faculty of Columbia University’s School of Public Health, where she was Associate Dean and Professor. Previously, she had appointments at the College of Physicians and Surgeons’ research faculty and served as Associate Dean. Dr. Healton was also an adjunct professor at Georgetown University’s School of Nursing. Earlier in her career, she was the chief administrator of the Alcoholism Treatment Center at the New York State Department of Mental Health’s Manhattan Psychiatric Center.

She is widely published, has served on numerous health policy bodies and committees, has been a major speaker at many important health conferences and other forums, and has been the principal investigator on numerous grants from federal and state agencies and foundations. She received her Bachelor’s degree from New England College, her M.P.A. from NYU’s Wagner School, and her Doctor of Public Health degree from Columbia University.

Founded in 1831, NYU is one of the world’s foremost research universities and is a member of the selective Association of American Universities. The first Global Network University, NYU has degree-granting university campuses in New York and Abu Dhabi, and has announced a third in Shanghai; has a dozen other global academic sites, including London, Paris, Florence, Tel Aviv, Buenos Aires, and Accra; and sends more students to study abroad than any other U.S. college or university. Through its numerous schools and colleges, NYU conducts research and provides education in the arts and sciences, law, medicine, business, dentistry, education, nursing, the cinematic and performing arts, music and studio arts, public administration, social work, and continuing and professional studies, among other areas.

Press Contact

John Beckman
John Beckman
(212) 998-6848