As we start the new academic year, I am excited to welcome new students, new members of our school team, and new members to the Colorado School of Public Health community. After a summer filled with adventures around the globe, whether through research-related travels, professional development, or leisure time with friends and family, our community is ready to embrace the essential work of public health. We are not ones to shy from adventure.
This semester, we renewed our commitment to one of our core values: the spirit of possibility. This value drives us to solve public health problems—and to do so in our own ColoradoSPH way. I want to share my thoughts on what I believe we can achieve and how we get there. Let us start with a shared definition of what public health does: public health creates environments—whether in the home, school, outdoors, indoors, in cars, on bikes, or other imaginable settings where all people have an opportunity to thrive. We achieve this goal through innovation, partnerships, community engagement, and rolling up our sleeves to do important, hard work.
Our foundation for success
We start the semester with strong foundations: a successful seven-year reaccreditation, dynamic leadership growth, a strategic plan in motion, a new communication strategy, and increased philanthropy. Our faculty’s talent, the students’ enthusiasm, and our resolute and creative staff all position us well for continued success. We are ready.
Facing challenges
We recognize our challenges, including budget constraints and recruiting the next generation of public health professionals to join this important call to action. Public health has not historically been infused with abundant financial resources. I believe we can improve in this area by telling our most compelling stories. Turnover in the public health workforce, and even some declines in our own applicant pool, signal a trend in public health that may lead to significant holes in the public health workforce. Yet, the need for belonging and growth within our field are foundational to our future successes, and we must address it with purpose and innovation.
Our plan for the year
Our approach for creating impactful public health environments:
- A call to “Come Together.” Coming together is the essence of the ‘spirit of possibility’ and what we can do together.
- Innovative Curriculum. We will develop a curriculum that harnesses our collective talent and energy, ensuring that we continuously improve and integrate our talents across the school.
- Professional Development. Opportunities for growth are central to our strategic plan, with more community-involved activities to train and inspire. We want to train the public health workforce while being part of the public health workforce.
- Research and Practice. Research is the engine that drives our innovation, and we will continue to support research and translate our findings into practice, which is key to achieving our vision of healthy environments.
Creating Unity
Unity means actively engaging with and supporting one another, fostering collaboration, and guiding our leadership to make impactful changes for us to thrive. In Colorado, we have a tradition of independence, but now is the time to embrace the power of collective strength.
With these principles in mind, our team has created an exciting semester. Here are just a few activities to kick us off:
- The 2024 Scholarship Reception and Donor Recognition on October 1.
- Research Exchange on October 11 with Keynote Speaker Johnathan Patz, MD, MPH, University of Wisconsin-Madison.
- State of the School on October 22.
- School-wide volunteer days throughout November.
- Dean’s Speaker Series: Starting with Dr. Brandeis Hill Marshall in November and her book, Data Conscience: Algorithmic Siege on our Humanity.
- Hot Issues in Health Conference on December 5 with our partners at the Colorado Health Institute.
To share updated and relevant information, such as the events above, we have also updated our website homepage, and installed new digital monitors throughout the 3rd floor of Fitzsimmons and in the ColoradoSPH student lounge CU Anschutz campus to enhance communication.
We are also aware of the weight and excitement of the upcoming elections. It is important that you vote, as Voting is Public Health . We are partnering with a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization throughout the coming weeks to register voters on campus and to assist those who are away from their home voting district. The organization will be available during the CU Anschutz Block Party on September 18.
Join Us
These actions are ways to Come Together. We have the unique advantage of three campuses, five core departments, 16 research centers, nearly 200 faculty across all campuses, and more than 600 students. These are not siloes, but strengths that will harness to drive innovation and collaboration. I encourage you to reflect on what creating unity means to you and be part of our community’s endeavors.
