Welcome
to School of Community Health and Policy
The world of public health is both fascinating and valuable. Americans born today can expect to live 30 years longer than their ancestors born in 1900 primarily because of public health. Public health is the key to the prevention of unnecesary deaths and disabilities. It is the profession which addresses the health of the population as a whole. Public health measures the health status of the population; develops and implements strategies to improve and prevent unnecessary deaths and disability; and evaluates the effectiveness of prevention and treatment actions. The continuing success of public health will be dependent upon a new cadre of professionals since the turnover in the workforce will increase in this decade. Public health will also require increased resources in order to improve the utility of preventive health strategies.
Improving the health of the poor, the underserved, and people of color must remain the highest priority for public health for the coming decades if we are to assure the best health for the population as a whole. Morgan State University School of Community Health and Policy is an essential tool for the achievement of one of the major goals of public health – to eliminate health disparities. The School of Public Health and Policy is composed of the University’s Public Health Program, Prevention Sciences Research Center, and undergraduate Nutrition Sciences Program. Our focus is to train highly qualified professionals in promoting the health of poor, urban, and underserved communities. Our graduates will bring their experience and knowledge to the development of preventive health policies and strategies and implementation of programs which will succeed in these communities.
We are in the process of building a faculty with a variety of skills, experiences, and perspectives enabling the school and its students to have an immediate positive impact in Baltimore and Maryland and a long term impact on the health of underserved population nationwide. The departments of behavioral health, public health analysis, and policy and management have been functioning since the beginning of this academic year, and their chairs bring these varied perspectives and dynamic leadership to faculty and students. Our Public Health and Policy Program is currently accredited by the Council on Education for Public Health. We are moving at great strides towards CEPH accreditation of our School of Community Health and Policy by 2008.
Most faculty members are engaged in research which will provide future practitioners with proven strategies to address health disparities. The Prevention Sciences Research Center is the focus for mental health and substance abuse research within the school. Complimentary and alternative medicine, HIV prevention and control, and disaster preparedness are also major areas of research.
The Nutrition Sciences program provides an opportunity for young people to gain the skills to address one of the Nation’s greatest public health problems.
Prospective students, faculty and supporters are encouraged to contact us and visit. The rewards for joining this effort to improve the health of the least healthy will be splendid and long lasting.