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Joanne M. Jordan, MD, MPH, UNC School of Medicine’s Vice Dean for Faculty Affairs and Leadership Development and Joseph P. Archie, Jr. Eminent Professor of Medicine, has announced her intent to retire from the School of Medicine in January 2020.


Joanne M. Jordan, MD, MPH, UNC School of Medicine’s Vice Dean for Faculty Affairs and Leadership Development and Joseph P. Archie, Jr. Eminent Professor of Medicine, has announced her intent to retire from the School of Medicine in January 2020.

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Joanne Jordan, MD, MPH

Joanne M. Jordan, MD, MPH, UNC School of Medicine’s Vice Dean for Faculty Affairs and Leadership Development and Joseph P. Archie, Jr. Eminent Professor of Medicine, has announced her intent to retire from the School of Medicine in January 2020.

Jordan has directed the Office of Faculty Affairs and Leadership Development (FALD) since 2015. Under her leadership, FALD has greatly expanded its offerings with a focus on career and leadership development across the academic lifespan, while also promoting faculty wellness, vitality, and engagement.

Jordan first joined the UNC School of Medicine faculty in 1987 after completing her AB at Cornell University, her MD at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and Internal Medicine residency and Rheumatology fellowship training at Duke University. She received her MPH in Epidemiology from UNC’s Gillings School of Global Public Health in 1991.

For nearly 30 years, Jordan has served as the principal investigator and director of the Johnston County Osteoarthritis Project, a population-based study that focuses on racial/ethnic and gender disparities in risk factors and outcomes for osteoarthritis and chronic illness. The study has been federally funded continually since 1990; its scientific and policy impacts have been recognized by the Osteoarthritis Research Society International Clinical Research Award (2007) and the Rural Sociological Society Distinguished Service to Rural Life Award (2011).

In addition to her current role as Vice Dean, Jordan has held multiple other leadership appointments during her career at UNC. From 2007 – 2017, Jordan served as Division Chief for Rheumatology, Allergy and Immunology, and Director of the UNC Thurston Arthritis Research Center.

“As a clinician and researcher, Joanne’s work has improved the health of the people of our state. As a leader and mentor, she has made a positive impact on numerous faculty careers here at our school of medicine,” said Cristy Page, MD, MPH, Executive Dean of the UNC School of Medicine. “She will be greatly missed, and we wish her joy and happiness in her retirement.”

One of Jordan’s lifelong passions and sources of professional satisfaction has been in the mentoring of students and faculty, for which she has been nationally recognized multiple times, including receiving the award for Excellence in Investigative Mentoring from the American College of Rheumatology, and the Inspirational Physician Award from the American Medical Association. In 2018, Jordan was honored with the Johns Hopkins University Alumni Association’s Distinguished Alumni Award.

“I will be forever indebted to UNC for the many opportunities for me to have had such a full and varied career here, serving the people of North Carolina alongside so many wonderful colleagues,” Jordan said. “I am thankful for those who guided me over the course of my career and deeply appreciative of those who have trusted me to do the same for them.”

Following her retirement, Jordan looks forward to travelling, hiking El Camino de Santiago, and spending more time with her family.