On the recommendation of Dean Jane Philpott, Matthew Evans, Provost and Vice-Principal (Academic) has appointed Dr. Heather Stuart as Interim Head, Department of Public Health Sciences, effective September 1, 2024 until June 30, 2025 during which time the faculty will conduct a full search for the next head.
Dean Philpott extends her sincere gratitude to Dr. Bradley Stoner, who has led the department for the past four years with his expert guidance and thoughtful leadership. Dr. Stoner is taking on the role of Director of the Division of STD Prevention at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) while on a leave of absence from Queen’s.
Dr. Stuart is a professor in the Departments of Public Health Sciences (PHS), Psychiatry, and the School of Rehabilitation Therapy, and in the past has held the roles of interim head of PHS, and program director of the Masters of Epidemiology program. She is a highly regarded teacher, supervisor, and mentor to many masters, doctoral and post-doctoral students and has held clinical roles in both hospital and community-based settings.
Currently serving her third five-year term as the first-ever Bell Canada Chair in Mental Health and Anti-Stigma Research, Dr. Stuart’s research program focuses on mental health services evaluation with a specific focus on the stigmatization of mental illnesses. Dr. Stuart is also the senior consultant to the Mental Health Commission of Canada’s Opening Minds—an anti-stigma initiative—and a founding Chair and current Secretary of the World Psychiatric Association’s Stigma and Mental Disorders Scientific Section. In 2018, she was named to the Order of Canada and inducted as a Fellow in the Royal Society of Canada. She is the co-author of several books, her most recent dealing with anti-stigma research and practice.
Please join Dean Philpott in congratulating Dr. Stuart on her appointment.