Baylor University’s Robbins College of Health and Human Sciences Announces Dr. Jacques Baillargeon as Chair of the Department of Public Health
Baylor University’s Robbins College of Health and Human Sciences is pleased to announce the appointment of Jacques Baillargeon, PhD, as Chair of the Department of Public Health. Effective August 1, 2025, Baillargeon will succeed Leigh Greathouse, PhD, Associate Professor of Nutrition Sciences, who has served as Interim Chair of the Department of Public Health since June 1, 2024.
“Dr. Baillargeon brings significant leadership experience and research proficiency to Robbins College and the Department of Public Health,” said Jason R. Carter, PhD, Dean of Robbins College of Health and Human Sciences. “With its Christ-centered commitment to improving the wellbeing of individuals and communities, Baylor Public Health is poised to make a substantial impact as a hub for research and teaching in the field. I am thrilled for Dr. Baillargeon to join our team and lead our Public Health colleagues into this exciting future.”
Baillargeon makes his way to Baylor from the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) at Galveston, where he currently serves as Professor and Chair for the Department of Epidemiology in the School of Public and Population Health. Over the past two decades, Baillargeon has served in a number of leadership roles for UTMB Galveston, including Vice Chair for Education in the Department of Preventative Medicine and Population Health and Director of Research for the Division of Epidemiology and Outcomes, Correctional Managed Care.
In addition to his administrative work, Baillargeon is an active researcher with interests in pharmacoepidemiology, drug safety, pharmacovigilance, comparative effectiveness, patient-centered outcomes, and infectious disease, cancer, correctional, and psychiatric epidemiology. His research has been funded by the National Cancer Institute, National Institute on Drug Abuse, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the United States Department of Justice.
Baillargeon is the author and co-author of over 190 peer-reviewed journal articles, including first and senior authored articles published in JAMA, JAMA Internal Medicine, JAMA Network, The Lancet, American Journal of Medicine, Cancer, and other high impact journals. He has taught courses in the UTMB School of Public and Population Health, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, and School of Medicine.
As Chair for Baylor’s Department of Public Health, Baillargeon will join a team of faculty committed to assessing health, promoting health access and delivery, improving the well-being of the vulnerable and underserved, and training the next generation of public health researchers and practitioners through the Department’s undergraduate and graduate programs.
“Over the past few months, I've had the privilege of getting to know many of my future colleagues in the Department of Public Health and Robbins College,” shared Baillargeon. “I am excited about joining the Baylor community and having the opportunity to work with and learn from this inspiring and talented group.”
Outside of his professional work, Baillargeon enjoys watching college football, running through scenic areas (like Cameron Park), and reading theology and philosophy. His son, Griffin, is a graduate student studying biostatistics, his daughter, Sophie, is a speech-language pathologist, and his wife, Gwen, is a biostatistician, who will continue to work remotely with UTMB following the family’s move to Waco. Also moving to Waco and joining the Baylor family are the Baillargeons’ three dogs, Uno, Junior, and Jack.