William Latimer (epidemiologist)

William W. Latimer is an infectious disease epidemiologist and academic administrator. He recently served as the 7th President of Chestnut Hill College in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and previously served as the 14th President of the College of New Rochelle.

Early life and education

Latimer was born in Schenectady, New York, in 1963. He graduated magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa from Hobart and William Smith Colleges in 1985 with a double major in English and psychology, having studied American literature with John Lydenberg. During his Master's education at Columbia University he was introduced to cognitive and educational psychology by Dr. Joanna Williams, which was to partially shape his NIH-funded research in later years focusing on the development of cognitive executive functions to promote health equity and resilience in vulnerable populations. He received his Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Rhode Island (1993), completed his internship at Albany Medical College with Mike Nichols, Ph.D. (1993), a post-doctoral fellowship in the Division of Pediatrics and Adolescent Health at the University of Minnesota Children's Hospital, and a Master's in Public Health in epidemiology from the University of Minnesota (2000).

Academic career

Latimer completed his post-doctoral training in adolescent health at the University of Minnesota Children's Hospital, Division of Pediatrics and Adolescent Health (1993-1995) which culminated in a Scientist Development Award from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). He was research associate at the University of Minnesota, Institute on Community Integration, College of Education and Human Development (1995-2000). He then served as both an assistant and associate Professor of Mental Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health (2000-2011) where he led as PI multiple NIH research project grants (R01), an NIH Institutional Training Grant in Epidemiology, and a U.S. State Department funded Humphrey Fellowship Program.