Michelle R Chyatte

Michelle Renee Chyatte, DrPH, MPH joined UNCW in the Fall of 2025 as an Associate Professor in the Master of Health Administration (MHA) Program. She left the University of Cincinnati where she served as Program Director of the MHA program and as Director of the UC Public Health Response Team.

She has 15 years of experience with mixed methodology multi-level research, health care delivery systems, and curriculum development for public health and medical students. As a published researcher and educator, she is known for serving on a number of national strategic planning committees. She acts as a consultant for strategic program planning, evaluation, and as a public health accreditation specialist. Dr. Chyatte has presented at over a dozen national and international conferences in the past. Her research focus areas include competency development and program evaluation, infant neurocognitive development, foster care, and emergency preparedness protocols and evaluations.

Dr. Chyatte didn't always have aspirations of conducting research and teaching. Her career as a reporter for National Public Radio began September 2001. On that day, half of her family was overseas, her brother was in Philadelphia, and her sister was in Washington, DC. The lack of communication and the lack of knowledge shaped her passion for emergency preparedness. (See Specializations in Teaching for the rest of the story of why Dr. Chyatte became a professor.

Education

She received her B.S. in Broadcast Journalism from Kent State; an MPH from NEOMED; and a DrPH from Drexel University.

Specialization in Teaching

Dr. Chyatte enjoys teaching epidemiology, research methods, and quantitative methods. She also enjoys healthcare law & ethics and healthcare policy. It is in the classroom where Chyatte can combine professional and academic endeavors to create case studies and other tools that encourage student engagement and learning.

It was during her time working as a CASA that her passion for infant neurocognitive development was cemented - which led her to public health. A firm believer in education, Chyatte knows that solving health problems is best done through interdisciplinary approaches based upon data.

Research Interests

Dr. Chyatte believes in interdisciplinary research and thus her areas of expertise have allowed her to create strategic partnerships across departments and universities. Her research focus areas include competency development and program evaluation, infant neurocognitive development, foster care, and emergency preparedness protocols and evaluations.

Professional Service

Dr. Chyatte believes that professional service is the key to continuous quality improvement not just for the faculty members but also for the program, school, college, and community. It is inherent that we always give back and help collaborate and use data to solve problems small and large.

Community Engagement

One of things Dr. Chyatte enjoys the most about health administration and public health is the engagement and willingness to develop deep ties to the community. Those ties need to be based upon trust. Such relationships need to be mutually beneficial with no one group or team getting "more" from the relationship. Therefore, when establishing community engagement that element of time and history must be taken into account.

Honors & Awards

Edward R. Murrow Award (2005)
Kroc NPR Fellow: Washington, D.C. (2005)
Ohio Professional Writers: 1st Place: Documentary
National Press Club: 2nd Place: Documentary
National Federation of Press Women: 1st Place: Documentary
Finalist Daniel Schorr contest (2004)
Ohio SPJ: 1st Place: Best Coverage of Children’s Issues (2004)
Ohio Professional Writers: 2nd place: On-the-scene-reporting (2004)
NFPW: 1st place: Best Investigative Series (2004)
Ohio Professional Writers: HM: Coverage of Children’s Issues (2004)
AP: 1st place: Best Investigative Series (2003)
Ohio SPJ: 2nd place: Best Investigative Series (2003)
Ohio Professional Writers: 1st place: Best Feature (2003)
Ohio Excellence in Journalism: 1st place: Best Investigative (2003)
Ohio SPJ: 2nd place: Best Consumer Reporting (2003)