University Launches New School of Public Health

The new School of Public Health was launched on September 26.

The University of Maryland, College Park today launched its new School of Public Health , the first new school on the campus since 1981, when it opened the doors to its School of Public Affairs (now the School of Public Policy).

The University of Maryland, College Park School of Public Health will look at the human behavior, social and environmental factors that are at the root of many of today's major health problems, including obesity, cancer, diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

"We are very excited about this new School of Public Health," said University of Maryland President C.D. Mote, Jr. "As the state's flagship university, it is critical that we leverage our world-class resources to tackle the state's most pressing needs - in technology, education, workforce development, research and, now, in public health."

Mission
According to Mote, the mission of the School of Public Health is to advance a better state of health in Maryland, the nation and the world. "There is no better place to establish a school of public health than right here in College Park. We are at the hub of government and private health research and policy making. And, as the state's flagship campus, we have outstanding faculty in many fields who can collaborate to solve some of our most urgent public health issues."

The new School of Public Health will be built on the considerable strengths of its predecessor, the College of Health and Human Performance, with a core mission of translating public health research and learning into healthy public policy. "No other public research university in the region has an accredited school of public health whose mission is focused on research and the applications of knowledge that directly benefits citizens in that area," said Mote.

The first school created on the campus in more than 25 years, the School of Public Health will also concentrate on reducing health disparities. "We are grounded in the philosophy that we must close the gap between science and application in an effort to eliminate health disparities," said Robert S. Gold, dean of the school. "We have the resources and the strengths of the state and the campus to help us make a real difference in the health of our communities." According to Gold, the new school will collaborate with a range of university programs and its network of extension services to address public health issues across the state.

New Generation Another key goal of the School of Public Health is to train the next generation of federal, state and local public health leaders and workers. Says Gold, "As the baby boomers retire, the American Public Health Association projects that 25 percent of state public health workers will also retire by 2010.

"Not only will that create a critical shortage of public health professionals, we will have a huge new population of retired and elderly who will need health care. The graduates of the University of Maryland School of Public Health will help us meet the public health challenges of the coming decades."

Health Literacy
Recognizing that health literacy is among the most important contributors to overall health, the School of Public Health has made improving health literacy a major priority. The School of Public Health today also received a $2 million gift establishing the Herschel S. Horowitz Endowed Chair in Health Literacy, laying the foundation for the nation's first academic center on health literacy, the Herschel S. Horowitz Center for Health Literacy.

From left, Dean Robert Gold, Dr. Alice Horowitz and University of Maryland President C.D. Mote, Jr

The Center will look at how to improve public health by increasing health literacy and will promote and conduct health literacy research and related education. The endowed chair will fund a faculty member to conduct interdisciplinary research and service initiatives that examine the complex factors influencing health literacy, with a focus on increasing the health literacy of young children and their parents in underserved populations.

Recognized Programs
The University of Maryland, College Park School of Public Health will also build on the former College of Health and Human Performance nationally recognized programs and faculty in community and family health, kinesiology, biostatistics, and health services administration. The University of Maryland, College Park School of Public Health began offering new graduate courses this fall leading to new degrees in public health, health services administration, epidemiology and biostatistics, and maternal and child health.