Fall 2019 Dean’s Message
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Have you heard? The UIC School of Public Health will be turning 50 years old in 2020! As Dean of the School of Public Health, I’m excited to celebrate this milestone anniversary and encourage all members of our community to join me in commemorating all that we’ve been able to accomplish since 1970. We officially kicked off our year of celebrating on October 23, 2019. I was honored to have our two previous deans, Drs. Susan Scrimshaw and Paul Brandt-Rauf, join me for a panel discussion on The Past, Present and Future of Public Health. See page 37 for photos from that amazing night!
Also in this issue of Healthviews, and highlighted on the cover, you’ll read about the accomplishments that the School of Public Health has achieved over the past 50 years (see pages 3-6). Just as important as looking back on what we’ve been able to accomplish is looking ahead to where we want to be in the next 50 years! We’re very proud of the future of our Doctor of Public Health Leadership Program, which you can read about on pages 7-8. Another exciting development at our school is the redesigning and formalizing of a center to facilitate efforts in community engagement and public health practice (see pages 9-11).
The National Scope/Global Impact section of the magazine is one of my favorites because I am able to get a glimpse of what our students and faculty are doing around the world. Our school is known for its Global Health Program, so check out pages 17-19 to read about one of our projects in Kenya that is being funded by the Gates Foundation to expand and test an innovative clean drinking water system.
None of our work is possible without the generous support of alumni and friends, and we’re happy to recognize so many donors to IGNITE: the Campaign for UIC. Check out pages 24-29 for a listing of everyone who has supported the campaign thus far. We know that our ambitious goal of $85 million for the School of Public Health will be met before the campaign ends. See the Advancing Health section, where you’ll read about the power of philanthropy. If you are interested in learning more about the IGNITE campaign, please feel free to reach out to the Office of Advancement. They are happy to answer any questions you have. If you’ve already donated to the school, I can’t thank you enough.
Lastly, I hope you’ll take a moment to check out the Class Acts pages of the magazine to see the many ways our alumni and friends were engaged with the school over the past year. I hope to see you at one of our events in the coming year as we celebrate our 50th Anniversary!
Wayne H. Giles, MD, MS
Dean