Elizabeth Mayer-Davis has been appointed dean of the UNC Graduate School and will begin in her role on Sept. 1, according to a campus-wide email on Friday.
Mayer-Davis is a Cary C. Boshamer Distinguished Professor of Nutrition and Medicine, chair of the department of nutrition and the director of the UNC Nutrition Obesity Research Center.
She will replace Suzanne Barbour, who served as the dean of the graduate school since September 2019. Barbour will be stepping down from the position at the end of August, according to a July 18 announcement from the University.
"Beth takes the helm at The Graduate School during one of the busiest and exciting times of the year, and we are grateful that she and current dean Suzanne Barbour will work together to ensure a seamless transition over the coming weeks," the email said.
Mayer-Davis has been a faculty member at Carolina since 2008. At the Gillings School of Global Public Health's department of nutrition, she began a mentoring program, established a committee to nominate faculty for academic awards and made sure her colleagues’ professional development interests aligned with their committee service.
She was the principal investigator for the Carolina clinical site of the SEARCH for Diabetes in Youth study and served for over 15 years as co-chairperson for the study.
Mayer-Davis also has experience with faculty governance, as she is currently serving her second term on the Faculty Executive Committee at the University.
Outside of UNC, she served as the president for health care and education of the American Diabetes Association. She was also on the board of directors for the American Society for Nutrition and is a current member of its foundation board.
In 2011, Mayer-Davis was appointed to the Advisory Group on Prevention, Health Promotion and Integrative and Public Health by former President Barrack Obama.
