Fostering an Environment of Excellence

Beth Mayer-Davis is the dean of The Graduate School and the Cary C. Boshamer Distinguished Professor of Nutrition and Medicine. She began her position as dean on September 1, 2023. She has focused her career on diabetes, including the epidemiology and natural history of Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes in children and adults and also co-directs the Nutrition Obesity Research Center.

Formerly the chair of the Department of Nutrition at the Gillings School of Global Public Health, Mayer-Davis has and continues to mentor numerous graduate students. She is passionate about graduate students having access to professional development and mental health and well-being tools to support them during their time at Carolina.

The Well interviewed Mayer-Davis to continue its series on Carolina’s newest deans on campus.

“The Graduate School needs to ensure that we foster an environment that’s most conducive for our students to thrive,” said Mayer-Davis. “We need to care for our graduate students during their time at Carolina and engage in thoughtful, robust growth of our graduate programs without compromising our commitment to excellence.”

Mayer-Davis still maintains her research agenda within the Department of Nutrition at a reduced scope. She meets weekly with her graduate students with whom she continues her work on Type 1 Diabetes. She credits working with graduate students as an inspiration as they learn and become experts in their fields.

“For students whom I directly mentor, and for all our students at Carolina, I hope that they carry with them a mission-oriented perspective in order to promote the health and prosperity of North Carolina, our nation and the world.”

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