Dana March Palmer

Dana March Palmer is Senior Associate Provost for Academic Programs. She is also Associate Dean for Doctoral Education in Public Health, Assistant Professor of Epidemiology, and Director of Undergraduate Studies in Public Health at the Mailman School of Public Health.

In her role as Senior Associate Provost, Palmer shapes the development, planning and implementation of the educational initiatives of the Office for the Vice Provost of Academic Programs. She manages the development and oversight of key systems for the review of degree and non-degree academic programming, and co-leads the MSCHE reaccreditation of the University. Palmer also works closely with schools to manage and monitor educational agreements with other universities and organizations. Palmer also serves as Associate Dean for Doctoral Education in Public Health, Director of Undergraduate Studies in Public Health at the Mailman School of Public Health.

She was formerly the Associate Dean for Educational Initiatives at the Mailman School of Public Health, overseeing accreditation, the MPH Core Curriculum, the development and implementation of the undergraduate Special Concentration in Public Health and the DrPH Core Curriculum, as well as monitoring and evaluation of educational programs, and agreements and partnerships.

Palmer is a Columbia alumna, earning an MPH (Public Health 2003) and a PhD with distinction (GSAS 2011). She is a decorated educator and scholar, and has taught epidemiology, biostatistics, public health, and grant writing to students at the undergraduate, masters, and doctoral levels. She is a leader in pedagogical innovation in public health education at Columbia, and has received multiple awards to develop novel approaches to enhance student mastery of quantitative methods in public health.  Palmer is the co-director of the Biostatistics and Epidemiology Summer Training Program, a diversity program for undergraduates funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. She also leads and teaches two courses in the Special Concentration in Public Health at Columbia. Palmer’s research and mentorship has focused on mental and physical health, social inequities, and public health education, and her work has been featured in Scientific American. She is committed to the public translation of scientific knowledge, serving as a commentator for multiple local and national news organizations, and writing for USA Today and The New York Times.