Melanie Bernitz ’12PH, a primary-care physician who has held a number of senior leadership positions at Columbia, has been appointed executive vice president for university life and well-being. She had been serving as interim EVP since last winter.
In her new position, Bernitz oversees both University Life, a unit that supports all students by cultivating an inclusive campus environment, and Columbia Health, a network of more than two hundred health-care professionals that serve the University community.
A member of the Columbia faculty for more than two decades, Bernitz is an associate clinical professor in Columbia’s Center for Family and Community Medicine. Before being named interim EVP in late 2024, she had overseen Columbia Health since 2016. Before that, she was the executive director of the Student Health Service at Columbia University Irving Medical Center.
A native of the United Kingdom, Bernitz received both her bachelor’s degree in psychology and her medical degree at University College London. She then received her master’s degree in public health at Columbia’s Mailman School.
