It was in the late 19th century that Brown’s focus on community health led to the establishment of one of the nation’s first municipal public health laboratories in Providence. Generations later, our school continues to translate this commitment to improving the health of all people into research and programs fit for the 21st century. From revolutionizing how substance use is understood and treated, to guiding people and policymakers through the COVID-19 pandemic, to improving access to public health leadership by establishing the Health Equity Scholars program, our School of Public Health is building towards addressing the pressing public health challenges of our time.
At 10, we are a nimble, entrepreneurial, collaborative and intellectually rigorous school. We create community among nationally and internationally recognized researchers, a growing number of top global health practitioners and leaders and our superb, diverse students. We know the best way to become an effective public health leader is through training that is deeply rooted in practice.
This academic year, we are celebrating our history while looking towards the future. What can we learn from our faculty’s groundbreaking accomplishments in the fields of aging, substance use, children’s health, biostatistics and health care policy? What do we need to do next to tackle complex challenges such as the impact of climate change on health, information disorders and the erosion of trust in public health, or the opioid epidemic?
We will kick off a year of conversation, celebration, seminars, lectures, community gatherings and action-oriented offerings with a special event on September 27 at Alumnae Hall. Join President Christina H. Paxson — under whose leadership the school was created — and me as we explore the past, present and future vision for public health at Brown. We hope you can be there.
From advocating for healthier environments for children to evaluating hospice care, our work at the school touches people at every stage of life. Over the coming year, we’ll also share impact stories through articles, interviews, student and researcher profiles on social media and our newly refreshed website.
We hope you will join us in celebrating ten years of Brown’s School of Public Health, and over a century of public health impact at the University. At the tail end of a historic pandemic, with a host of pressing challenges ahead of us, it is an important time to build on our history, renew our commitment, and create a bold path forward together.
Ashish K. Jha M.D., MPH
Dean, School of Public Health
