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Welcome from the Dean

One of the distinguishing features of our school from its very origins, has been its focus on the student experience. Nearly 25 years ago when the faculty who came together to create the school developed the curriculum, they wanted it to be different from what was common then at many schools, not another “plain vanilla school.”

They wanted the curriculum to be less static and theoretical and more focused on problem solving and on providing real-life practical experiences for students as part of their training.

And this idea, the idea that students learn best when they are able to continually apply and reflect on what they are learning, has remained a core component of our school’s identity and our educational programs.

In this issue of our magazine, you will see many student stories reflected. Stories of students working here in our own Philadelphia, in Latin America, and in Africa. Stories of students working for the health department, in advocacy organizations, health care providers, non-profits, businesses, and laboratories. Stories of students learning the theory and methods of public health while they apply what they learn to generate new evidence, build partnerships, and work to create real change through both local programs and large-scale policy change. Stories of students who focus on research doing surveys, compiling different kinds of data, doing statistical analyses, conducting laboratory studies, and reviewing and synthesizing evidence. Stories of students who use what we know to advocate for health and promote and support public health interventions. Students who participate in the development of policy and build the partnerships needed to create real and meaningful change that promotes health equity.

We know that it is critical to provide opportunities for student experiences in all aspects of public health practice, policy development, and research. We do this through an extensive set of local and global partners and through the many projects and programs (both research and practice-oriented) that our faculty engage in. But we also know that our curriculum has to evolve and change to fit the changing needs of our students and the world they will work in. In this issue you will also read about a novel integrated course on the foundations and systems of public health that our school has recently launched. In this course our faculty use key current public health challenges to illustrate the core principles of our field, in a way that is reminiscent of the problem-focused public health curriculum espoused by the faculty who founded our school.

Every year at commencement, as the graduating students walk across the stage, I am amazed by what I see. I see accomplishment, energy, creativity, and diversity. I see a desire to go out into the world and use knowledge to make a difference. I see commitment.

Sometimes, in today’s world it is not easy to stay hopeful. But as I shake each student’s hand, and hear their loved ones’ cheer, I am reminded that hope is after all possible. And I am grateful to know that at our school, we are committed to doing all we can to provide our students with the knowledge, skills, and values they need to make the world a healthier and fairer place for all of us.

Ana V. Diez Roux, MD, PhD, MPH
Dean and Distinguished Professor, Epidemiology
Dornsife School of Public Health