From Our Dean: Tamara Taggart Joins Rutgers University to Lead New Center
In June, Tamara Taggart, Associate Professor of the Department of Prevention and Community Health, was announced as the Perry N. Halkitis Endowed Chair for Advancing LGBTQ+ Public Health at the Rutgers School of Public Health and Inaugural Director of the Rutgers Center for Sexual and Gender Minority Health at Rutgers Health at Rutgers University. She will also serve as an Associate Professor in the Department of Urban-Global Public Health at the school of public health and a 2025 Rutgers University Presidential Faculty Scholar. Her last day at GW was July 31, 2025.
Taggart served nearly seven years on the GWSPH faculty. We extend our heartfelt appreciation for her exceptional leadership and dedication to community health during her time with us, especially her commitment to reducing HIV/AIDs disparities among members of LGBTQ+ and other minoritized communities and her ability to engage such communities in groundbreaking research. A well-loved professor, she served PCH as the Director of the Community Oriented Primary Care program, participated in the university-wide GWALA leadership training program, was the Associate Director of the Social and Behavioral Sciences Core of our DC-CFAR, and represented us well within the university's Nashman Center for Civic Engagement and Public Service. In her new position at Rutgers, she will establish the Rutgers Center for Sexual and Gender Minority Health to become a national leader in LGBTQ+ health research, education, and policy development, which is a testament to her exceptional leadership, dedication, and expertise in the field of public health. Professor Taggart's groundbreaking work in community-based research, particularly in using state-of-the-art methods to determine how discriminatory neighborhood environments and other social-structural factors are adversely impacting health, is garnering widespread recognition as well as NIH support. Her research has already made a significant impact on public health practice.
While we will miss Tamara's presence at GW, please join me in congratulating her on this next chapter and extending our best wishes for all her future endeavors.
Truly Yours,
Dean Lynn R. Goldman