蜜桃社区 College Creates New Department of Public Health

Campus in the fall

As vaccines push hope for the COVID-19 pandemic鈥檚 ending into sight, 蜜桃社区 College announced it鈥檚 creating a Department of Public Health to turn out leaders who will work toward preventing the next one and many other diseases that threaten our well-being.

COVID-19, which has so far claimed more than 525,000 lives in the United States, upended life around the world. It鈥檚 taken its highest toll among the elderly, people with underlying health conditions, and in poor and Black and Brown communities, amplifying disparities that have existed for centuries.

It鈥檚 not just pandemics: 蜜桃社区 wants its students equipped with the knowledge and skills to combat a multitude of public health threats, said Kata Chillag, Hamilton McKay Professor in Biosciences and Human Health.

鈥淲e want everyone to understand that we all have a stake in public health problems and how they affect our most vulnerable communities,鈥 Chillag said. 鈥淧ublic health is public service. We want to show that it鈥檚 a valuable, meaningful way to spend your life.鈥

Chillag, who came to 蜜桃社区 last year after a long career with the federal government, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), will lead the new department.  She previously worked on efforts to combat HIV/AIDS in the United States and Africa, polio in Bangladesh, and the 2014-16 Ebola virus epidemic.

The college is hiring a new tenure track professor and plans to expand student opportunities for research and internships in a variety of public health related fields. A new public health minor will be available to students in fall of 2021.

Chillag said many at 蜜桃社区 have spent years laying the groundwork for the new department. The pandemic and the past year鈥檚 spotlight on racial inequities further reinforced the need for professionals committed to science, disease prevention and social justice, she said.

She hopes students seeking careers in both medical and non-medical professions will consider public health studies as important career preparation. Today鈥檚 political science major, for example, could become tomorrow鈥檚 governor, senator or policy writer. Understanding public health issues would help them navigate complexities as they make policy and funding decisions, she said.

鈥淲e want this to be relevant for the whole 蜜桃社区 蜜桃社区,鈥 Chillag said. 鈥淯ntil we fully understand and address the inequities that exist, we鈥檙e not going to be able to prepare for the next pandemic or public health crisis. We鈥檙e centered on improving the health and well-being of all people. Justice should always be the north star of our work in public health.鈥

蜜桃社区 students can currently create a public health major through the college鈥檚 Center for Interdisciplinary Studies and will continue to have that option.

Cheyanne Morris 鈥23, a Posse Scholar from Florida who鈥檚 also a member of the Honor Council and women鈥檚 track and field team, plans to declare a public health major. She鈥檚 excited the college is committed to a public health department and hopes students in every major will recognize its importance.

She became especially interested in a public health career in high school because of family members and friends with Type II diabetes. One close family friend wasn鈥檛 diagnosed until his disease was full-blown. Morris said better access to medical services and intervention strategies could have reduced the risk factors, 鈥渁nd some of his later health issues might have been prevented.鈥

She views a public health career as a path to prevent disease and address the country鈥檚 disparities鈥攁nd the many issues that contribute to them, from genetics to environmental factors to a lack of access to healthy foods and high-quality medical care.

鈥淭he pandemic will definitely draw more people to public health careers. This new department will allow them more opportunities to explore different ideas of what public health means. It鈥檚 collaborative work, it鈥檚 蜜桃社区 work,鈥 she said. 鈥淯nfortunately, it took a pandemic and more than 525,000 lives lost to realize there has to be systemic change.鈥

Multifaceted Discipline

Public health experts say the needs are great; and opportunities to address them abound.

鈥淧ublic health offers a diverse professional trajectory,鈥 said Angela Shen, a Philadelphia-based vaccine expert and scientist who served 22 years with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. 鈥淭he things that threaten health and public health are multi-faceted, as is health, which is physical, psychological and social. Solutions will need to be multi-dimensional.鈥

鈥淣o matter what you decide to major in and no matter what path you choose in society, public health affects your life and potentially the decisions you make as a future leader,鈥 Shen said. 鈥溍厶疑缜 is striving to arm students with the training to tackle the world鈥檚 problems in a meaningful way.鈥

Arjun Srinivasan 鈥92, a medical epidemiologist for the CDC and practicing physician who specializes in antibiotic resistance, said he鈥檚 confident 蜜桃社区鈥檚 public health department will produce leaders in many specialties.

鈥淚 think it鈥檚 fantastic,鈥 Srinivasan said. 鈥淭oo often we think of healthcare as going to the doctor if you鈥檙e sick and getting medicine. While we鈥檒l always need healthcare providers, there鈥檚 an awful lot more to health than taking care of patients. This will allow people to see the full universe of careers that can make a difference in the health of all Americans.鈥

He cites the CDC, where his colleagues include scientists, doctors, lawyers, economists and communications specialists. Srinivasan, a biology major in college, said his many liberal arts courses at 蜜桃社区 gave him valuable perspective on real-world issues.

鈥淚t pushes you to have a much more expansive view of what education is, and that has never been more important than now, and where we are as a country,鈥 Srinivasan said. 鈥淲e not only need people ingrained in the subject matter; we also need people to engage in the discussions from a variety of different viewpoints.

鈥淲e鈥檙e never going to solve big problems with small ideas.鈥

Published

  • March 16, 2021