Natalie Gaughf, PhD

Assistant Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs

Dr. Natalie W. Gaughf assumed her role as assistant vice chancellor for academic affairs on April 1, 2022. In this position, she is working alongside Dr. Scott Rodgers, associate vice chancellor for academic affairs and chief academic officer, in supporting the academic mission for the Medical Center’s six health professions schools.

Gaughf, who joined the Medical Center faculty in 2003, has served in a variety of other leadership and faculty roles, including professor of family medicine, professor of population health science, associate dean for student affairs for the School of Population Health, acting executive director of the Myrlie Evers-Williams Institute for the Elimination of Health Disparities, and director of the Office of Academic Support.

She has also served as the John D. Bower School of Population Health’s interim dean.

In 2002, she earned a PhD in counseling psychology at the University of Southern Mississippi and completed her residency in clinical psychology at the VA Gulf Coast Veterans Health Care System in Biloxi. She completed a health psychology postdoctoral fellowship in primary care at UMMC.

In the School of Dentistry at UMMC, she held faculty or leadership positions in the Department of Care Planning and Restorative Sciences; the ACT Center for Tobacco Treatment, Education and Research; the Department of Pediatric and Public Health Dentistry; and Faculty Research Development.

In the School of Medicine, she held faculty appointments in the Department of Family Medicine and the Department of Otolaryngology & Communicative Sciences.

Gaughf’s service on committees, advisory boards and task forces at UMMC is extensive, as is her list of peer-reviewed publications, poster presentations, and professional presentations. She is the co-author of two book chapters.

Gaughf has been licensed as a psychologist since 2005.Her honors include receiving the President’s Award for Dedication and Commitment to the Organization and being recognized as a fellow by the Mississippi Psychological Association. She served on the Mississippi Board of Psychology from 2016 to 2022. Since January 2023, she has served on the American Psychological Association’s Council of Representatives.