Lantz to Return to Faculty Appointment
Photo: Michael Spencer/UNCW
Chris Lantz, the College of Health and Human Services’ Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, has announced that he will return to his faculty appointment within the college in June 2026.
Lantz joined UNCW in 2012 as the director of the School of Health and Applied Human Sciences. He was appointed Associate Dean for Academic Affairs in August 2018. In this role, Lantz oversees curriculum development, new program development and implementation, the online, accelerated program (OAP), enrollment, educational quality assessment and improvement, accreditation processes and academic support for faculty.
Lantz evolved the Academic Affairs Operations service team model into four components consisting of logistics and data management operations, applied learning operations, assessment and accreditation, and data systems analysis to meet the needs of the CHHS faculty, staff and administrative units. He oversaw the successful accreditation or re-accreditation of all degree programs in the College as well as the creation of numerous degree programs including graduate programs in Healthcare Administration, Athletic Training, Physician Assistant Studies and Physical Therapy and undergraduate programs in Public Health, Respiratory Therapy and the Health Sciences Technology-Bachelor of Social Work degree completion program. He also played a leading role in developing numerous articulation agreements that provided students special advantages in the admissions process and pathway programs that made degrees like social work, exercise science and respiratory therapy accessible to adult learner populations.
Lantz was instrumental in working with paws4people™ Foundation to bring the Assistance Dog Training Program, a first-of-its-kind, university-based, academic minor to campus. He also facilitated the partnership with ACCESS of Wilmington, which provides accessible recreational activities to people with disabilities.
Lantz is a member of UNCW’s James F. Merritt Million Dollar Club. This honor recognizes faculty and staff who have secured $1 million or more in external research funding. He was co-principal investigator and primary author of the Healthcare Transformation Project generously funded by the New Hanover Community Endowment in the amount of $10.2 million. The project addresses critical healthcare workforce challenges in New Hanover County.
“Chris Lantz’s contributions to the College have been many and varied. It is easy to say that the College is where it is today in large part because of the many contributions he has made,” said College of Health and Human Services Dean Jack Watson.
Prior to coming to Wilmington, Lantz was a tenured professor in the Department of Health and Exercise Sciences at Truman State University (Kirksville, M.O.), where he served as the department's chair from 2002-2012. In that capacity, he led a program in exercise science and accredited programs in health science and athletic training. He also led the department to successful completion of its first capital campaign and partnered with the Truman Institute to develop the Center for Health Initiatives and Programming.
Prior to beginning a career in higher education, Lantz served as the founding director of a hospital-based community wellness center. Lantz earned his Doctor of Education in sport behavior from West Virginia University. He also holds a Master of Arts in sport psychology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a Bachelor of Arts in psychology from West Virginia Wesleyan College.
Lantz joined UNCW in 2012 as the director of the School of Health and Applied Human Sciences. He was appointed Associate Dean for Academic Affairs in August 2018. In this role, Lantz oversees curriculum development, new program development and implementation, the online, accelerated program (OAP), enrollment, educational quality assessment and improvement, accreditation processes and academic support for faculty.
Lantz evolved the Academic Affairs Operations service team model into four components consisting of logistics and data management operations, applied learning operations, assessment and accreditation, and data systems analysis to meet the needs of the CHHS faculty, staff and administrative units. He oversaw the successful accreditation or re-accreditation of all degree programs in the College as well as the creation of numerous degree programs including graduate programs in Healthcare Administration, Athletic Training, Physician Assistant Studies and Physical Therapy and undergraduate programs in Public Health, Respiratory Therapy and the Health Sciences Technology-Bachelor of Social Work degree completion program. He also played a leading role in developing numerous articulation agreements that provided students special advantages in the admissions process and pathway programs that made degrees like social work, exercise science and respiratory therapy accessible to adult learner populations.
Lantz was instrumental in working with paws4people™ Foundation to bring the Assistance Dog Training Program, a first-of-its-kind, university-based, academic minor to campus. He also facilitated the partnership with ACCESS of Wilmington, which provides accessible recreational activities to people with disabilities.
Lantz is a member of UNCW’s James F. Merritt Million Dollar Club. This honor recognizes faculty and staff who have secured $1 million or more in external research funding. He was co-principal investigator and primary author of the Healthcare Transformation Project generously funded by the New Hanover Community Endowment in the amount of $10.2 million. The project addresses critical healthcare workforce challenges in New Hanover County.
“Chris Lantz’s contributions to the College have been many and varied. It is easy to say that the College is where it is today in large part because of the many contributions he has made,” said College of Health and Human Services Dean Jack Watson.
Prior to coming to Wilmington, Lantz was a tenured professor in the Department of Health and Exercise Sciences at Truman State University (Kirksville, M.O.), where he served as the department's chair from 2002-2012. In that capacity, he led a program in exercise science and accredited programs in health science and athletic training. He also led the department to successful completion of its first capital campaign and partnered with the Truman Institute to develop the Center for Health Initiatives and Programming.
Prior to beginning a career in higher education, Lantz served as the founding director of a hospital-based community wellness center. Lantz earned his Doctor of Education in sport behavior from West Virginia University. He also holds a Master of Arts in sport psychology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a Bachelor of Arts in psychology from West Virginia Wesleyan College.
This article has the following tags: College of Health & Human Services Academics