Latimer named founding dean of Lehman College School of Health Sciences, Human Services and Nursing

Latimer-680x541William W. Latimer, Ph.D., M.P.H., chair of the University of Florida department of clinical and health psychology, has been appointed inaugural dean of the School of Health Sciences, Human Services and Nursing at Lehman College of the City University of New York. He begins his new position September 2. In this role, Latimer will provide academic and administrative leadership of the new school’s undergraduate and graduate programs and he will participate in the development of college-wide policies and university initiatives.

The School of Health Sciences, Human Services and Nursing includes four academic departments — health sciences and public health, nursing, social work and speech-language-hearing sciences — and it enrolls more than 4,000 students. It is one of five schools of Herbert H. Lehman College, a liberal arts college at The City University of New York that serves more than 12,000 undergraduate and graduate students on a 37-acre campus in the northwest Bronx.

Latimer joined the University of Florida in 2011 as the Elizabeth Faulk Professor and chair of the department of clinical and health psychology at the UF College of Public Health and Health Professions.

“Being a member of the department, college and UF has been a great privilege with so many outstanding researchers, clinicians and educators working toward inter-related and common goals,” Latimer said. “I have learned a great deal from the leadership of Dean Perri and deeply value the exceptional quality of scholarship of the faculty within the department of clinical and health psychology.”

Latimer’s research has focused on the epidemiology, prevention and treatment of infectious disease and drug dependence, with a special focus on neurobehavioral risk factors of disease, treatment engagement and outcome. He has received more than $25 million in NIH-funded research, and has been continuously NIH-funded for the past 20 years.

“I have greatly appreciated Dr. Latimer’s many contributions during his time at the University of Florida,” said Michael G. Perri, Ph.D., dean of the UF College of Public Health and Health Professions. “I wish him well as he advances to the next stage of his career as founding dean at Lehman College’s School of Health Sciences, Human Services and Nursing.”

As chair, Latimer successfully grew the UF department of clinical and health psychology in difficult financial times. Some of his accomplishments included the hiring of two new tenure track faculty members, increasing clinical revenue by 30 percent, and building new bridges with the Malcom Randall Veterans Affairs Medical Center. He also developed, as co-producer and host, the “Public Health Minute” program on WUFT-FM public radio in Gainesville, Fla.

“I have appreciated the collaborative efforts that took shape between the department of clinical and health psychology and the colleges comprising the UF Health Science Center as well as the College of Journalism and Communications, among others,” Latimer said. “I very much look forward to sustaining and building new bridges between Lehman College and the University of Florida.”