VCU news

By Pamela DiSalvo Lepley

RICHMOND, Va. (July 8, 2004) - The State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) has approved a new School of Public Health at Virginia Commonwealth University.  The new school, the only School of Public Health in Virginia, will help fill a large and growing need for public health professionals, VCU officials said.

"The VCU School of Public Health will work with state and federal agencies to improve the health status of all Virginians," said VCU President Eugene P. Trani.  "The school will be committed to produce first-rate public health practitioners and researchers that are needed in government, academic institutions and corporations."

In particular, the VCU School of Public Health will address emerging public health issues such as bioterrorism and the risks of biological and chemical weapons, as well as new infectious diseases such as SARS.  It also will help meet the need for interventions and public education for Virginia's problems, such as obesity, substance abuse, cancer prevention and interpersonal violence.

"VCU is in a perfect position to establish a School of Public Health because we have the only comprehensive health sciences campus in Virginia and close working relationships with state agencies, such as the Virginia Department of Health, the Office of Chief Medical Examiner and the Division of Consolidated Laboratory Services," said Dr. Sheldon M. Retchin, VCU vice president for Health Sciences and CEO of the VCU Health System. 

VCU has the first fully accredited master of public health program in Virginia and doctoral programs in epidemiology, biostatistics and health administration, the latter ranked 5th in the country by U.S. News and World Report.  The core areas of the VCU School of Public Health will include biostatistics, epidemiology and community health, environmental and occupational health, behavioral and nutritional sciences and health policy and management.

The school will collaborate with other VCU programs, including the Center for Public Policy, environmental studies, community health education, nursing, dentistry, pharmacy, psychiatry, psychology and social work. 

The VCU School of Public Health initially will be established within the VCU School of Medicine and enrollment will be effective for the Spring 2005 semester. 

There are 34 accredited schools of public health in the United States. Prior to the approval of the VCU School of Public Health, Virginia was the only state with a population greater than seven million that did not have at least one school of public health.