Johns Hopkins University is selecting Keshia Pollack Porter as the new dean of its Bloomberg School of Public Health after a “global search” for someone to fill the role.

“Our aim was to find someone with distinguished academic credentials, proven administrative experience, and exceptional leadership qualities who would honor the Bloomberg School‘s storied history while fostering innovation and collaboration around a shared and ambitious vision for the school’s future at a moment of unique challenge for higher education and the field of public health,” said Johns Hopkins University President Ron Daniels, in a message sent to faculty, staff, and students on Tuesday. “I am delighted to report that we found the perfect leader in Keshia Pollack Porter.”

Pollack Porter has “led numerous federally funded studies, published more than 200 peer-reviewed articles and reports, and influenced public health practice through leadership roles with the CDC and the National Academies, among others,” the university said in a statement.

Pollack Porter came to the Bloomberg School in 2002 as a Ph.D. student, became an associate professor in 2006, then progressed to full professor in 2017. She later began leading the school’s Institute for Health and Social Policy and Department of Health Policy and Management. She’s also led the Health Policy Research Scholars — part of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, a philanthropy dedicated to health equity. She served as vice dean for faculty at the Bloomberg School from 2019 to 2022.

“I am thrilled to partner with faculty, staff, students, alumni, the university, and the larger global and local communities to promote optimal health and well-being for all,” Pollack Porter said in the university’s statement. “The work that we do in public health is now, more than ever, critically important.”

Pollack Porter will assume the role on Aug. 1. She replaces Ellen Mackenzie, who announced in September she was stepping down after serving in the role since 2017.

“I’m thrilled that Dr. Pollack Porter has been appointed to be the next dean of the Bloomberg School,” Mackenzie said in a statement. “With deep personal knowledge of the school, its work, and its people, and a constant willingness to listen, learn, and champion new ideas, I know she will do a terrific job.”

Pollack Porter graduated from Tufts University in 2000 with a degree in sociology. She later earned her Master of Public Health in chronic disease epidemiology at Yale University and her Ph.D. in health and public policy at Hopkins. She also completed a postdoctoral fellowship supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and University of Pennsylvania.

The search for a new dean was led by an 18-member committee and assisted by Park Square Executive Search, a leadership search firm, the university said.

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