Press Release

For Immediate Release
Contact: Susan Preston
(973) 972-7265

Dr. Denise Rodgers, Widely Recognized Expert in Health Disparities, Is Appointed Vice President and Chief of Staff at UMDNJ

9/14/05—John J. Petillo, Ph.D., president of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ), has appointed Denise V. Rodgers, M.D., chief of staff for the university effective September 19, 2005.

Dr. Rodgers has served as senior associate dean for community health and professor of family medicine at UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School since January 1997.

Dr. Rodgers will maintain her faculty appointment at UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and continue to see patients through the Eric B. Chandler Health Center in New Brunswick.

She replaces Maria Soto-Greene, M.D., who has been appointed interim vice dean of UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School.

"The university is fortunate to have an individual with Dr. Rodgers' breadth of experience and passion for education and community service stepping into this leadership position," Dr. Petillo said. "I am confident that she will be a valuable asset in moving the university forward, particularly in her capacity of directing the implementation of UMDNJ’s newly approved strategic plan."

"This is a tremendous opportunity for me to help further the University’s commitment to delivering excellence across each of our mission areas - education, community service, healthcare and research," Dr. Rodgers said. "As a member of a strategic planning workgroup, I saw first hand the time and enthusiasm invested by scores of people in this process. It is truly exciting to now be able to bring their efforts to life."

Dr. Rodgers received her Bachelor of Arts degree in psychobiology from Oberlin College and her medical degree from Michigan State University College of Human Medicine. She completed her family practice training at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx. Dr. Rodgers is board certified by the American Board of Family Medicine and a diplomate of the American Academy of Family Physicians.

Prior to joining the faculty at UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, she served as director of the Family Medicine Residency Program and vice chairperson of the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the University of California - San Francisco.

Widely recognized as an expert in disparities in health care delivery, Dr. Rodgers has published and lectured extensively about excess mortality in minorities, racism in medicine, cultural competency and medical education in setting that care for underserved populations. She is a member of the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services Office of Minority and Multicultural Health Advisory Committee and chair of the epidemiology subcommittee and member of the Governor’s Council on HIV/AIDS and Related Blood-Borne Pathogens.