Dean's Welcome
Together with my colleagues in the College of Public Health,
I welcome your interest in public health and our college. This is an especially exciting time for our field as increased awareness of health concerns and growing interest in preventive strategies has brought renewed attention to public health among policymakers, the media, and the public. At the same time, there is a growing recognition that a highly trained and effective public health workforce will be necessary to help society meet substantial new challenges, such as changing demographics, increasing environmental pressures, and the need to adopt healthy lifestyles.
Public health education teaches more than facts, figures, and methods. It teaches values – the value of cross-disciplinary collaboration and social justice, the tremendous potential we have to eliminate health disparities and prevent premature suffering and death. There is an acknowledged public health workforce shortage, and education can help us bridge the gap. Our college’s mission is to promote health and prevent injury and illness through commitment to education and training, excellence in research, innovation in policy development, and devotion to public health practice. Our talented faculty, staff, students, and alumni, together with partners at the local, state, national, and international levels, form a learning community that actively promotes these values while seeking to fulfill our mission.
As the college continues to foster collaborations with its many partners and promote better health for people everywhere, I look forward to the many challenges and rewards to come as dean of the College of Public Health.
We welcome your questions and comments concerning the College of Public Health. Feel free to direct inquiries to a specific department or program, or to me at sue-curry@uiowa.edu.
Sincerely,
Susan J. Curry, Ph.D.
Dean and Distinguished Professor of Health Management and Policy
College of Public Health