Colorado’s first school of public health opens in 2008
The Colorado School of Public Health Initiative recently announced the opening of Colorado's first school of public health.
The unanimous approval by the University of Colorado Board of Regents gave the University of Colorado Denver the authorization to open the school in academic year 2008-2009.
The Colorado School of Public Health will be a collaborative school comprising three of Colorado’s public universities: the University of Colorado Denver, Colorado State University, and the University of Northern Colorado.
As the lead institution, UCD will connect its public health strengths with those of CSU and UNC, subsequently allowing more students to receive public health training, speed interdisciplinary research development and provide access to training and research funds only available to accredited schools of public health.
“Once formed, the Colorado School of Public Health will fill a significant regional void and no doubt play a vital role in the national public health arena. With the pressures facing our public health system - from skyrocketing health care costs to disease management to disaster planning - a strong public health school can go a long way toward addressing the more pressing health needs of our region,” said UCD Chancellor M. Roy Wilson.
The new school will sit at the center of a nine-state region currently lacking a school of public health. In order to serve the region, the school will incorporate an inter-institutional Masters of Public Health degree; research-based Master of Science and Doctoral degrees; medical residency programs; distance learning; continuing education, community outreach and public health research.
“The School builds on the significant strength of Colorado’s research universities in biomedicine and will provide the advanced workforce needed to address local health issues as well as global challenges such as tuberculosis, AIDS, West Nile virus and other diseases,” said CSU President Larry Edward Penley.
Traditionally, the three universities are long-standing supporters of public health in Colorado and the region. Each university currently offers degrees and research in public health, but the collaboration is expected to maximize their efforts by combining the programs and research into one school.
“This initiative will allow us to leverage the public’s investment in higher education so that we can provide programs that are essential to addressing state and national priorities,” said UNC President Kay Norton.
The Colorado School of Public Health Initiative will receive $1.25 million in funding from The Colorado Health Foundation for successfully meeting the foundation's 2006 challenge grant, by demonstrating university and community support. The grant leveraged nearly $3 million in additional funding for the Initiative, including The Caring for Colorado Foundation, Rose Community Foundation, Colorado Public Health Association, the Hill Foundation, Kaiser Permanente, Great West Life, and numerous individual donors.
In addition, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and Colorado’s Area Health Educational Center (AHEC) awarded contracts for projects within the proposed school.
The new school will be eligible to apply for national accreditation from the Council on Education for Public Health following graduation of its first class of students. The universities' existing programs will independently retain program accreditation until the school is officially accredited in 2010.
In securing both approval and financial support, the new school is scheduled to open in academic year 2008-2009.
Until next year, the Initiative will focus on school curriculum, distance education, recruitment, and developing strong relationships with communities and agencies working in public health. The new school will be eligible to apply for national accreditation from the Council on Education for Public Health once it graduates its first class of students. The universities’ existing programs will independently retain program accreditation until the school is officially accredited in 2010.
For more information, visit the website at www.coloradoSPH.org.
