Since August 2015, David R. Tillman, PhD, MEd, MA, CPH, has served as chair of the Department of Public Health at Campbell University College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences. Under his leadership, the rural health program has earned full accreditation from the Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH) and full membership in the Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health (ASPPH). Tillman teaches courses in rural health, community health assessment, and public health ethics, and has led study abroad programs in Guatemala, Ghana, and Haiti.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Tillman served as a staff epidemiologist for the Emergency Operations Center in Raleigh, N.C., and managed contact tracing operations for Campbell University. He led initiatives to combat vaccine hesitancy among American Indian communities, supported by a grant from Interfaith America.
Tillman spearheaded efforts in the national Reaching Rural: Advancing Collaborative Solutions Initiative, co-sponsored by the CDC and the State Justice Institute, to develop comprehensive community-based strategies to address the overdose crisis. He also convened the Recovering Hope Conferences in 2019 and 2024, integrating faith communities into strategic overdose prevention initiatives.
An advocate for individuals with intellectual disabilities, Tillman serves on the National Fragile X Foundation Board. He has facilitated Special Olympics MedFest events and trained health professionals in inclusive health care, drawing from his personal experience as a father of a child with Fragile X syndrome. In recognition of his contributions to Special Olympics, he received the 2023 Golisano Health Leadership Award.
Alongside his work at Campbell, Tillman consults with health care systems, local health departments, and state governments regarding strategies for improving health—especially in rural contexts. In his home state, he has served as a member of several statewide committees—including the North Carolina Opioid and Prescription Drug Abuse Advisory Committee (OPDAAC), North Carolina Rural Health Leadership Alliance, North Carolina Committee on Dental Health, and the North Carolina Institute of Medicine Healthy NC 2030 Social & Economic Factors Expert Panel.
Tillman holds degrees in English (BA – Campbell University), Education (MEd – Campbell University), Global Studies (MA – University of North Carolina at Greensboro), and Educational Psychology (PhD – North Carolina State University).