University of Iowa President Bruce Harreld has appointed Sue Curry interim executive vice president and provost beginning April 1, 2017. Curry has served as dean of the University of Iowa College of Public Health and as a Distinguished Professor in the Department of Health Management and Policy since 2008. She replaces P. Barry Butler, who was recently named president of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida. The College of Public Health will select an interim dean.
“Dr. Curry has demonstrated strong leadership in the College of Public Health, developing new programs focusing on core values of equity and justice, which are also core values of our institution,” says Harreld. “I am pleased she is willing to take on this important role as we review our academic organizational structure and begin to implement our strategic plan.”
Curry is recognized internationally for her expertise in behavioral science and translation of research findings into health policy. Her extensive research in chronic disease prevention and management includes studies of tobacco cessation, dietary change, modification of risky drinking patterns, and methods of increasing compliance with recommended cancer screening. Curry’s research also encompasses studies of the use and cost effectiveness of prevention treatments under different health insurance plans and health care costs and utilization associated with tobacco cessation.
“I am excited to serve the university in this interim role,” says Curry. “As dean of the College of Public Health, I have had the privilege to lead a highly productive and innovative unit dedicated to making a difference and creating brighter futures for people everywhere. In this new role, I look forward to working with colleagues across campus to ensure our university’s continued academic excellence and national leadership.”
Prior to joining the College of Public Health in 2008, Curry served as professor of health policy and administration and director of the Institute for Health Research and Policy in the School of Public Health at the University of Illinois at Chicago. From the late 1980s until joining UIC in 2001, Curry was professor of health services in the School of Public Health and Community Medicine at the University of Washington and senior investigator and director at the Center for Health Studies, Group Health Cooperative. She also served as a scientist in the Cancer Prevention Research Unit—the first of its kind in the US—at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle.
Curry was appointed vice chair of the US Preventive Services Task Force in March 2016 and previously served as a member of the task force from January 2009 through December 2014. She was elected to the National Academy of Medicine (formerly the Institute of Medicine) in 2010 and is a member of their Board on Population Health and past section 9 chair. She is a member of the CDC’s Interagency Committee on Smoking and Health and the Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health Board of Directors. Curry’s past professional service activities include vice chair of the Board of Directors of the Truth Initiative (formerly the American Legacy Foundation) and member of the Board of Scientific Advisors for the National Cancer Institute. She is a fellow of both the Society of Behavioral Medicine and the American Psychological Association.
Curry is the recipient of numerous awards, including the American Society for Preventive Oncology’s Joseph R. Cullen Memorial Award in 2000, the Society of Behavioral Medicine’s Distinguished Scientist Award in 2001, and the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco’s John Slade Award in 2015.