Tireless Service to the State

On June 2, the Gillings School community gathered in the Armfield Atrium to celebrate Morris Weinberger, the Vergil N. Slee Distinguished Professor of Healthcare Quality and Management.

Weinberger retired this month from his role as professor and chair in the Department of Health Policy and Management at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health after nearly 20 years of service to the University and more than 30 years of service to the state of North Carolina.

It was for those dedicated years of service that Weinberger was presented, at his retirement celebration, with the North Carolina governor’s Order of the Long Leaf Pine award — one of the highest honors reserved for those who have made significant contributions to North Carolina and their communities through exemplary service and exceptional accomplishments.

“I’m humbled to receive this honor,” Weinberger said. “Throughout my career, I have been fortunate to work with amazing faculty, students and staff who have enriched my career and my life. They are the reasons for any successes that we have achieved together.”

His work to develop and evaluate care strategies and processes for health care systems has been published widely in top academic journals and has earned prestigious awards from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (2002) and the Department of Veterans Affairs (2003).

His teaching and mentorship have earned recognition at UNC, including the Gillings School’s John E. Larsh Jr. Award for Mentorship (2013) and Award for Teaching Excellence and Innovation (2015) and UNC-Chapel Hill’s Class of 1996 Award for Advising Excellence (2015). It also earned him the John M. Eisenberg Excellence in Mentorship Award from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (2005).

“If there is one word that captures Morris it is tireless,” said one nominator. “He has always worked so hard to help others. His contributions to public health and the state of North Carolina are exceptional, and he has my strongest endorsement for this award.”

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