Dr. Patricia (Patty) Kissinger
JUST BEFORE PRESS, Dean Thomas LaVeist made two more leadership announcements. First he named Dr. Patricia (Patty) Kissinger as associate dean for faculty affairs and development, effective August 1, 2019. This is a new position for the school and is designed to strengthen and expand faculty affairs at SPHTM.
Kissinger earned her BS in nursing from Marquette University and both her MPH and PhD in epidemiology from Tulane. She spent three years as a field epidemiologist in Haiti before taking on a position at Louisiana State University. In 1992 she returned to Tulane as a faculty member in the Department of Epidemiology and was promoted to professor in 2004. In that role she has mentored dozens of junior faculty and feels a strong commitment to meeting faculty’s needs in this new role. She’s also served as a member and chair of the Appointment, Promotion and Tenure, chair of the Dean’s Research Council, and as University Senator, among other key voluntary roles relating to faculty needs and resources.
“Patty brings a wealth of enthusiasm and energy to this new role,” LaVeist said in his announcement. “I am confident that under her leadership we will expand the quality and depth of faculty initiatives offered by the school.”
Starting September 1, 2019, Dr. Alicia Battle will join the Tulane faculty as director of the school’s new Online MPH program. Battle will, who will a clinical assistant professor within the Department of Global Community Health and Behavioral Sciences, will academic leadership and oversight of the curriculum for the program that begins Fall 2019.
Battle comes to Tulane with a wealth of public health teaching and practice experience. She completed her PhD in health education from Southern Illinois University and went on to direct health and wellness programs at Middlebury College, University of Alabama Birmingham School of Medicine,and Governor’s State University. Most recently, as assistant professor at the Benedictine University Department of Public Health. she planned, organized, and taught courses in their online, on-ground, and China MPH programs. In this this role she also chaired the department’s curriculum committee and worked closely with various service units to ensure the department’s distance learning platforms were functioning effectively for both faculty and students.
She is also no stranger to Tulane. In a prior life she worked for Tulane’s Division of Student Affairs directing the university’s Alcohol Education Initiatives. She also served as chief student affairs officer during the recovery months following Hurricane Katrina.
“We are excited to welcome Alicia back to Tulane University,” the dean said. “She will provide a key academic role in the exciting future of the school’s online presence.”