Robert D. Ernst

Robert D. Ernst, M.D., is the chief health officer and associate vice president of student life for health and wellness. As chief health officer, he serves as a key advisor to the president on matters related to the health and wellness of the university community, including the promotion of health and well-being, disease management, and public health preparedness on all three campuses. His vision, one that aligns with the Okanagan charter, is to embed health and well-being into all aspects of campus culture and to inform the institution in its aspirational goal to become a health-promoting university.

Ernst is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame and received his M.D. degree from the U-M Medical School. He completed his internal medicine residency training at U-M Hospital where he also served as a chief medical resident. He has considerable experience and expertise in the areas of campus health, interprofessional team-based care and clinical practice design. He has previously served as executive director and medical director at University Health Service and as senior associate division chief of general internal medicine and assistant chair for primary care in the Department of Internal Medicine at Michigan Medicine.

Ernst led the U-M community through the covid pandemic as director of Campus Covid-19 Response and chair of the Campus Covid-19 Health Response Committee. In his role as chief health officer, he oversees the Public Health Infection Prevention and Response Advisory Committee. He also chairs the Pharmacy Benefits Advisory Committee for the university. He is a clinical assistant professor at the U-M Medical School and he has been a practicing primary care physician at U-M since 1995.