Your source for public health news and updates at WashU.

The School of Public Health (SPH) moved into its next phase of development with the recent gathering of the School of Public Health Readiness Committee. 

Co-chaired by Vicky Fraser and Mary McKay, the SPH Readiness Committee convenes WashU colleagues representing key functions and disciplines who are engaged in the shared work of planning the launch of the new School of Public Health.

Committee members collaborated to create a unified timeline that begins to map the activities and milestones required to launch the school and the A&S undergraduate program. Their collective efforts will ensure that each phase of development is thoughtfully planned, allowing for a seamless transition from initial concept to full implementation. 

Committee members explored how their work aligns to the mission and values of the new school. The group also discussed how to apply the values of the SPH as a guide for assessing individual and collective ideas, actions, and choices. By consistently putting SPH values into practice, the Readiness Committee will move the launch of the school toward an aligned future-state.

In a recent visit to campus Dean Galea shared brief remarks on his vision for public health at WashU. Attendees also heard from Margaret Kruk who will be the director of the university-wide QuEST Center. The center will expand the consortium’s work to new areas, including inequities in health-care quality in the U.S.

Leading up to his official start date in January 2025, there will be opportunities for the WashU community to meet Dean Galea, including his participation in the 2024 Public Health at WashU Annual Conference scheduled for October 21-22. 

Earlier this month, the Higher Learning Commission approved the application for the Arts & Sciences Public Health & Society major. This important milestone marks the final step in approving the major for enrollment in the fall of 2025. The Public Health and Society minor will launch fall of 2024.

Reaching this significant milestone has involved the work of many remarkable colleagues across the university and co-directors T.R. Kidder and Lindsay Stark extend their gratitude to all involved. 

Next steps for the program include officially adding the major to the WashU undergraduate application and supporting the registration of the first student cohort.

The first phase of planning for the Research Division of the School of Public Health is underway.

To expand upon the excellent public health work currently happening at WashU, center leaders and staff have helped clarify key areas of collaboration within the SPH that they will use to guide future work. These include utilizing listening tours, consultations, and feedback platforms to further develop an integrated public health research framework.

In collaboration with Dean Sandro Galea, the university Faculty Hiring & Policy Committee has been hard at work drafting and revising policy outlines for faculty appointments and promotions as they relate to tenure, research, teaching, and practice tracks.

As these items continue to progress through the development and refinement process in the coming months, the committee looks forward to more strategic collaboration. 

The School of Public Health accreditation timeline continues to progress through its many 2024 milestones with the final version of the initial application submission for accreditation sent out at the end of May. This action will initiate the start of a 12-month self-study process supporting the overall transitional development of the new school. 

The Office of Public Health is in close collaboration with university partners and will continue to build its staffing, policy, procedures, and structure proposals to be reviewed by the Dean (upon his arrival) in preparation for the new school opening in 2026.

Click here for a detailed SPH development timeline. 

A new project called NutriConnect, led by Jing Li from the School of Medicine, will compare the effectiveness of two produce prescription approaches for encouraging healthy eating and addressing food insecurity.

Karen Joynt Maddox, co-director of the Center Advancing Health Services, Policy and Economics Research, recently assisted the American Heart Association with a presidential advisory offering statements about the dire future of heart disease outcomes. Read the latest news. Read the AHA presidential advisory.

According to a recent paper by Elizabeth Dodson research assistant professor at the Prevention Research Center at the Brown School, clear policy briefs and local data are key to communicating with policymakers.

For those interested in or currently integrating community-engaged research in their work, here is some great advice for success from James Krings, a Public Health Faculty Scholar and Asst. Professor of Medicine.

Do you have public health news to share? Submit your story here. 

Following in the tradition of the Institute for Public Health Annual Conference bringing together the existing strengths of public health in our university, community and region, the 2024 conference is a collaborative effort between Office of the Provost, WashU’s strategic vision Here and Next, and the Institute for Public Health.  

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