It feels like fall in Colorado. The evening chill reminds me winter is around the corner, with its snow, sports, and endless adventures. But, before jumping to the excitement of winter, I want to embrace autumn. Autumn is the season of reflection—a chance to take stock of where we’ve been and where we are headed. For those of us in public health, health care, and higher education, this past year has been a whirlwind.
Five years ago, we were still living through the COVID-19 pandemic. Vaccines were under rapid development, health experts were on daily news broadcasts and social media, and public health schools such as ours provided crucial data to guide what to do and where lives could be saved. But today, the voices that once filled the public conversation have quieted as new and returning threats loom. Threats like distrust in science, vaccine hesitancy, erosion of confidence in leadership, disorganization, and the rise of misinformation. At the same time, universities—nearly all reliant on federal funding—are cautious in weighing in, and many find they are tempering their remarks when their expertise is crucial.
So the question is: how do we stay true to the mission of public health, while remaining indispensable to the communities we serve? I believe the path forward rests on six commitments.
1. Be an honest source of information.
Public trust begins with reliable information. Yet, several trusted public-use data sources—such as the CDC’s COVID-19 hospitalization and case dashboards—have been scaled back or even discontinued. In their absence, misinformation often fills the void. This is a clear opportunity for academic public health to step in. Our job is to generate new, trusted data, synthesize evidence, clearly communicate limitations, and interpret findings in ways that communities can use. For example, the ColoradoSPH leads the Colorado Healthy Kids’ Survey –providing an important indicator of the health and well-being of children in our communities.
2. Communicate complicated concepts clearly.
Subtle distinctions matter. Take the current debate about whether acetaminophen use in pregnancy is “correlated” with autism risk versus it being “causal.” That’s a world of difference to expectant parents making health decisions in real-time. Or consider “climate change”—a phrase so broad that it risks losing meaning. For a farmer on the Eastern Plains, climate change may mean prolonged drought; for residents in Boulder, it may mean wildfire smoke and degraded air quality; for families in Pueblo, extreme heatwaves. Our responsibility is to translate these broad scientific concepts into lived realities communities can recognize, prepare for, and act on. Our faculty and staff are engaged in community outreach projects and regularly respond to media enquiries to ensure we meet Coloradans where they are and deliver timely, accurate information
3. Reach every community and be their partner.
At its core, public health is about all communities. Solutions are not one-size-fits-all: air quality interventions for Denver differ from mosquito-control strategies on the Western Slope. Our voice is strongest when we partner directly with communities to identify problems and co-create solutions. Our work in the San Luis Valley is a model: we bring together local leaders, healthcare providers, and ColoradoSPH researchers to reduce real-world health risks, like food shortages for example, which can follow water contamination or drought. Our researchers have spent nearly 20 years in the southern part of the state, building relationships with locals, finding community advocates, and listening to them. We ask them what they are concerned about and develops research studies to get to the heart of the issue, then work with them on solutions that will be sustainable.
4. Join and expand alliances.
There is strength in numbers. Individual universities may tread carefully on policy issues, but coalitions can amplify our impact. A strong example is the Colorado Chooses Vaccines Coalition, which brings together the ColoradoSPH, Children’s Hospital Colorado, the Colorado Hospital Association, Immunize Colorado, and others. Together, we are building a trusted voice on vaccine effectiveness and ensuring access for Coloradans who want protection. Partnerships with health care delivery systems are another priority. You will regularly see members of ColoradoSPH speaking at the same events or participating in projects alongside Denver Health, Colorado Access, and others. With federal Medicaid support declining and fewer people seeking preventive care, hospitals face rising uncompensated costs. Today, providers large and small, are even more incentivized to align with public health—we stand ready with an eagerness to collaborate.
5. Learn and move forward.
Public health professionals have been remarkably self-critical about the actions taken during the pandemic, but cannot dwell endlessly on mistakes or be reluctant to take on today’s challenges. Many things were done right, and countless lives were saved. We learned. Now we must move forward. Just in the past few weeks, school benefactors have contributed more to our research, boosted support for student scholarships, and signed up to stay engaged with our work. People are counting on us, and silence is not a strategy.
6. Stay focused amid distraction.
Every day, headlines and social media bombard us with noise that can draw us away from our mission. But our task is clear: build a stronger version of ColoradoSPH, stronger science, and stronger communities. When distractions mount, we will double down on our efforts. Instead of being discouraged or outraged, we channel our energy into solutions—whether advancing air quality research, preventing opioid overdoses for our youngest and most vulnerable, preparing for the next zoonotic spillover, or informing policies regarding pharmaceutical cost control.
We cannot—and should not—simply rebuild the public health infrastructure of the past. Those systems, many of which have already been dismantled, are not coming back. Instead, we must redesign, reimagine, and modernize. Government investment may lag, but private partners are already stepping in. Our role is to stand ready to shape what happens next.
I believe the ColoradoSPH is uniquely equipped to lead. We are innovative, nimble, and deeply connected to the communities we serve. And we must not be shy about saying so. Now is the time to take charge, offer bold solutions, and strengthen the future of public health. We may use different methods and we may speak out in new ways, but we are nonetheless a voice that needs to be heard.