College of Health Sciences Dean Kristofer Hagglund has appointed Julie Kapp as chair of the Department of Public Health at the University of Missouri. 

Kapp is a leading scholar in health promotion and disease prevention who has served as interim chair of the public health department since August, when outgoing chair Brian Houston accepted the position of associate provost for academic programs at MU. Dean Hagglund said he’s eager to see Kapp continue to thrive in this new role.

“Julie is held in high regard in public health communities and brings experience and strong leadership to the role as chair,” Dean Hagglund said. “I’m excited to see her continue to grow the Department of Public Health in the years to come.”

Kapp’s work has been highlighted in The New York Times, Psychology Today, USA Today and Yahoo! Health. Some of her current research looks at adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and the long-term health consequences of those life events.

“I am honored to serve as the next chair of the Department of Public Health,” Kapp said. “We have a very dedicated faculty, staff and student body who are invested in making public health impacts around the state, country and world. Working alongside such passionate people energizes me.”

The University of Missouri’s Master of Public Health (MPH) program dates back to 2007, when Mizzou leadership recognized a growing need to address the state’s public health challenges and meet the increasing need for trained public health professionals. In 2019, the Bachelor of Health Science in Public Health and MPH were housed in the newly formed Department of Public Health within the College of Health Sciences.

In her new role as chair, Kapp said she hopes to expand the size of the department and student body. As the only public health program in Missouri housed within a land-grant university, Kapp said the department benefits from unique opportunities to work with MU Extension and other partners throughout the state — including in-house collaborators like the Center for Health Policy and the Missouri Cancer Registry.

“These unprecedented partnerships offer exciting opportunities for innovative intersections with research, teaching and service,” she said.

Kapp is an alumna of Mizzou and earned her Ph.D. in public health from Saint Louis University. She has nearly 20 years of service within the UM System, including serving as an associate professor with the School of Medicine and as the founding executive director of the Partnership for Evaluation, Assessment and Research at the University of Missouri–St. Louis.

Kapp has achieved national recognition by the American College of Epidemiology as a fellow for her significant and sustained contributions to the field. She is also a Malcolm Baldrige Executive Fellow, a competitive distinction bestowed by the U.S. Department of Commerce Undersecretary for Standards & Technology.