Media Room

SPH Facts, 2012-2013

Dean: Martin Philbert, Ph.D.
Students: 1,012
Faculty: 156
Alumni: 13,710 living alumni in all 50 states and 86 countries

Departments

Degrees

M.P.H., Master of Public Health
M.H.S.A., Master of Health Services Administration
M.H.I., Master of Health Informatics (in partnership with School of Information)
M.S., Master of Science (through Rackham Graduate School)
Ph.D., Doctor of Philosophy (through Rackham Graduate School)

Mission Statement

The University of Michigan School of Public Health seeks to create and disseminate knowledge with the aim of preventing disease and promoting the health of populations worldwide. We are especially concerned with health equity and thus have a special focus on disadvantaged populations who suffer disproportionately from illness and disability. We serve as a diverse and inclusive crossroads of knowledge and practice, with the goal of solving current and future public health problems. (2011 update)

Samples of Research Projects and Areas of Interest

(see Research Centers & Initiatives and Faculty Research Projects)

Disease transmission and vaccine development
Epigenetics
Food/human nutrition
Motivational interviewing and tailoring of health messages
Global health
Air and water quality — measurement and modeling of hazardous air pollutants
Climate change
Tobacco — impact of smoking and tobacco control policies on health; exploration of the economics of smoking and tobacco control;development of e-technologies for smoking cessation
Asthma control and patient self-management
Statistical gene mapping for diseases such as diabetes, glaucoma, and breast cancer
Cancer — occupational cancer epidemiology; cancer prevention
AIDS — development of chemo-therapeutic agents for pneumocystitis carinii; transmission system analysis of HIV infection
Management of health care organizations, costs, and quality
Economics and impact of varying types of health insurance
Assessments of long-term care costs, quality, and outcomes
Women's health/Men's health
Community participation in public health decision-making
Infectious diseases — molecular and global epidemiology
Chronic disease management
Ethics of genetic research and application
Bioterrorism preparedness and recovery
Socioeconomic inequalities and health

Notes of Interest

(see Timeline for more)

Michigan's School of Public Health established in 1941.
Jonas Salk learned the techniques he used to develop the Salk Polio Vaccine at the School of Public Health. Professor Thomas Francis, Jr., chair of the Dept. of Epidemiology, directed polio vaccine trials of 1.8 million children that proved the Salk vaccine "safe, potent, and effective." (1955)
On Job/On Campus launched: a two-year, weekend program allows professionals to pursue advanced degrees while remaining employed full-time. (1972)
Launched first Public Health Genetics curriculum in the country in 1996. First graduates in May 1998.
School leads University-wide initiative exploring inequalities in health status (1998).
Center for Research on Ethnicity, Culture and Health established (1998).
Michigan Center for Public Health Preparedness established (2002).
FDA approves FluMist nasal spray flu vaccine developed at SPH for use by healthy people ages 5-49 (2003).
Opening of Crossroads of Public Health building addition and renovation (2006).

Statement of Values Underlying Public Health Practice.

The University of Michigan School of Public Health has been working to promote health and prevent disease since 1941, and is consistently ranked among the top schools in the country. Faculty and students in the school’s five academic departments and dozens of collaborative centers and institutes are forging new solutions to the complex health challenges of today, including chronic disease, health care quality and finance, emerging genetic technologies, climate change, socioeconomic inequalities and their impact on health, infectious disease, and the globalization of health. Whether making new discoveries in the lab or researching and educating in the field, our faculty, students, and alumni are deployed around the globe to promote and protect our health.