Professional News

Sanderson Selected as Interim Dean of UK College of Public Health

LEXINGTON, Ky. (June 20, 2014) -- Wayne Sanderson, Ph.D., has accepted the position of interim dean of the College of Public Health, effective July 1, 2014. While serving as interim dean, he will remain director of the Central Appalachian Regional Education Research Center (CARERC) and deputy director of the Southeast Center for Agricultural Health and Injury Prevention (SCAHIP), CDC-funded centers that conduct research and education on the health and safety problems facing our nation’s workers and rural residents.  Sanderson was selected after a college-wide nomination process and in close consultation with UK President Eli Capilouto.

Dr. Steve Wyatt, who has served two very successful terms as the founding dean of the UK College of Public, is returning to the UK College of Medicine where he will lead two critical initiatives: growing UK's Center for Clinical and Translational Science and guiding an emerging partnership that UK HealthCare has established.

"We are grateful to Steve for his contributions, and wish him every success in his new role," said UK Provost Christine Riordan.

The College of Public Health is celebrating its 10th anniversary this month, and as a component of Kentucky’s land grant institution, its mission is to apply comprehensive health approaches to better understand and help reduce the burdens and disparities of health problems on individuals, families and communities. Kentuckians experience some of the worst health outcomes in the country, and the College of Public Health is committed to excellence in research, education, and service that addresses the unfortunate yet well-documented health challenges of the Commonwealth.

Under Wyatt's leadership the College has experienced tremendous growth in faculty, staff, students, extramural funding, and reputation, with the college now ranked 25th nationally by U.S. News and World Report.  The College also began offering undergraduate public health courses during the past few years, a development that has garnered so much interest that a bachelor's degree program has been approved this month by the University Senate.

In moving forward, Sanderson's experience and expertise will be an asset to continuing the College's growth and success during this interim period.  With a research focus on a wide variety of occupational and environmental exposures, he has served as chair of the Epidemiology Department in the College of Public Health since January 2010. Prior to joining the University of Kentucky in December 2009, he was a professor in the Occupational and Environmental Health Department of the University of Iowa College of Public Health.

He also was a commissioned officer in the U.S. Public Health Service beginning in 1978, assigned to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH/CDC). His tenure culminated in 2002 with his position as chief of the Industrial Hygiene Section in the Industrywide Studies Branch.

Sanderson said he is delighted to be working with the wonderful students, faculty, and staff in the College of Public Health. “They inspire me every day to get to work early to help address the many public health problems facing the Commonwealth and around the globe," he said.

In the coming weeks, a search committee will be formed to identify candidates for the position of Dean of the College of Public Health.

MEDIA CONTACT: Mallory Powell, mallory.powell@uky.edu