Kurt Ribisl will be the next dean of the IU School of Public Health-Bloomington, according to a news release Monday from the Office of the Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor.
He will begin March 1, 2026, assuming the role from interim dean Suresh Viswanathan, who took over in July after the departure of former dean David Allison.
Allison began his tenure as dean in 2017. He oversaw the establishment of several doctoral programs and research laboratories and led the school as it improved its national rankings. Between 2024 and 2025, the school climbed from No. 38 to No. 27 in the U.S. News and World Report rankings for public health graduate schools.
Allison stepped down earlier this year for a position at Baylor College of Medicine. Viswanathan, dean of the IU School of Optometry, has acted as interim dean since July.
A search committee oversaw Ribisl’s appointment, mainly consisting of IU professors and faculty from the School of Public Health.
Dean of the Indiana University Bloomington Graduate School David Daleke and Bernice Pescosolido, distinguished professor of sociology in the College of Arts and Sciences, co-chaired the search committee. The search included a series of town halls where students, faculty and staff could meet the finalists and ask questions.
The release stated that Ribisl has spent nearly 30 years at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is the current chair of the Department of Health Behavior at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health and co-program leader for Cancer Prevention and Control at UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Ribisl has directed multiple National Institutes of Health-funded research centers and served on the Food and Drug Administration’s Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee. His primary research in tobacco regulatory science has affected national policy and public health, according to the release.
Rahul Shrivastav, IU Bloomington provost and executive vice chancellor, said in the release that Ribisl’s “vision and strategic approach” will strengthen the school’s academics, research and reputation.
“Kurt brings exceptional scholarly expertise and a proven record of leadership in public health,” Shrivastav said.
The School of Public Health enrolls over 3,700 undergraduates and 450 graduate students and employs nearly 375 faculty and staff across its five departments.
The school’s research expenditures topped $26 million last year, supporting topics including lead exposure reduction and health equity in tribal jails.
The dean is the chief academic and administrative officer of the School of Public Health and reports directly to the provost and executive vice chancellor of the university.
The dean also manages the annual budget of about $55 million and publicly represents the School of Public Health.
