Rhodes Named Department Chair in Public Health Sciences

May 6, 2015

Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center has appointed Scott D. Rhodes, Ph.D., M.P.H., chair of the Department of Social Sciences and Health Policy in the Division of Public Health Sciences.

A professor of public health sciences, Rhodes is a recognized expert in the development, implementation, evaluation and dissemination of behavioral, structural and policy interventions to reduce health disparities among vulnerable communities, including rural populations, Latinos and sexual and gender-identity minorities in the United States and internationally.

Rhodes earned his bachelor’s degree at the College of William & Mary, his master’s at the University of South Carolina and his doctorate at the University of Alabama-Birmingham. He completed a fellowship in public health education at UNC-Chapel Hill in 2003 and joined the faculty at Wake Forest Baptist that same year.

Rhodes has published more than 130 articles and 30 book chapters, and he recently edited a book, “Innovations in HIV Prevention Research and Practice through Community Engagement.” His research has been funded by the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, amfAR: The Foundation for AIDS Research and the Kate B. Reynolds Foundation.

Rhodes succeeds Doug Easterling, Ph.D., as chair of social sciences and health policy. Easterling, who served as the department’s chair for 10 years, stepped down to devote more time to his research activities.

Media Relations

Mac Ingraham: mingraha@wakehealth.edu, 336-716-3487

Erin Harris: news@wakehealth.edu, 336-713-4587