Mollye Demosthenidy named new principal of Newcomb-Tulane College

Tulane University alumna Mollye Demosthenidy has accepted an appointment as the new principal of Newcomb-Tulane College, effective July 1. (Photo by Jennifer Zdon)

Mollye Demosthenidy, a nationally recognized expert in health care and associate dean for strategic initiatives at the School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine (SPHTM), has accepted an appointment as the new dean of Newcomb-Tulane College (NTC), effective 1 July. an extensive national search that has attracted outstanding candidates from all over the country.

An award-winning and beloved professor, Demosthenidy joined Tulane University in 2011 and has been a courageous leader in his dedication and service within his department and his school, throughout the university, and among his peers nationwide. During his outstanding service as Vice President of the University Senate, he worked with faculty, staff and students throughout the institution. She has been consistently recognized for her work by her colleagues, the university and her students and has been honored with numerous awards.

Newcomb-Tulane College is the quintessential and unique academic portal to Tulane through which all full-time undergraduate students enter university life, said Tulane President Michael A. Fitts. Mollye’s extensive knowledge of the unique Tulanes college experience, coupled with her innovative vision of how to support the next generation of NTC students, will enhance and elevate the scholarship, research opportunities, and individual guidance offered through our historic and vital university college.

“As faculty, I have seen the unique role NTC plays in the Tulane university experience and I am honored to continue the work to make Tulane a place where all students thrive.

– Mollye Demosthenidy

I am thrilled to take on the role of principal of Newcomb-Tulane College. As faculty, I have seen the unique role NTC plays in the Tulane university experience and am honored to continue the work to make Tulane a place where all students thrive, Demosthenidy said. I am deeply grateful to the research committee and to all those involved in the research process for their reflection on the future of the College. It’s an exciting time to be a Tulanian.

Demosthenidy is also a clinical professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management at the School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. His academic interests are in the role of law and policy in improving health outcomes and the intersection of law, politics and health care policy. He teaches courses on health systems, health legislation and regulation, health policy, and leadership at the undergraduate and graduate levels.

Dean of Newcomb-Tulane College is a unique position and has attracted a strong pool of scholar-administrators. From the very first meeting, the search committee was enthusiastic about Mollye’s candidacy, and this was echoed by everyone who met her during this lengthy search process, said Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Chancellor Robin Forman. Mollye brings the breadth of perspective and passion for all aspects of graduate education, the ability to create and communicate an exciting vision, the collaborative spirit needed to build a community around our shared academic goals, and the administrative acumen needed to move the school forward. Newcomb-Tulane College is a hallmark of Tulane education and I’m excited to see how it advances under Mollyes’ leadership.

Demosthenidy is well known to the NTC. Lui has held various positions there since 2015. He is currently a member of the NTC Academic Integrity Committee and the faculty dean of the NTC College Scholars Program. He also serves as a mentor to the residential faculty at Butler Hall. Previously, she served on the NTC Honors Council, was a faculty discussion leader for the NTC Reading Project, and was a member of NTC’s first-year faculty fellows program.

Throughout her career as a faculty member, Mollye has received numerous awards at SPHTM and was honored with the Mortar Board Teaching Award from Newcomb Institute. She is a five-time recipient of the Outstanding Undergraduate Public Health Teaching Award and a two-time recipient of the Student Government Association’s Teaching Excellence Award. She has also received the Dean E. Elaine Boston Award for Outstanding Long-Term Commitment to Students and was named a member of the Delta Omega Honor Society.

An acclaimed scholar, Demosthenidy was a member of the Tulane team that evaluated Louisiana’s Medicaid expansion. His work has been published in Health Affairs and JAMA Network Open.

Prior to joining the Tulane faculty, Demosthenidy practiced law at two New Orleans firms, focusing on the regulatory and transactional issues facing healthcare professionals.

A Louisiana native and an Alexandria native, Demosthenidy received both her JD and her master’s degree in health care administration from Tulane in 2007. She received her B.S. from Louisiana State University in 2003.