A note from Dean Paula Song
In public health, we often say that some of our best work is invisible. That’s because it’s on the prevention side, in that space where we’re bolstering your health and well-being without you knowing it. We’re keeping people out of the hospital, ensuring toxic chemicals aren’t contaminating your air and water. We’re making sure your lunch leaves you satisfied and happy, not nauseated and bedridden. We’re making sure disease-carrying mosquitoes aren’t ruining your backyard evenings.
The work may seem hard to spot from the outside, but I can assure you the efforts here at Ohio State’s College of Public Health are far-reaching and deeply meaningful.
Faculty, staff, students and alumni are addressing important social and economic circumstances that drive health disparities, working to mitigate longstanding public health challenges related to substance misuse and the opioid crisis, and exploring ways to ensure that high-risk women receive appropriate and early detection and care for cancer. They are crossing oceans to prevent the spread of disease, monitoring wastewater for early signs of infectious disease and applying science to inform policy decisions about access to health care, reproductive and sexual health and rights and immunization.
And the crucial research and policy initiatives in our labs and in our communities enhance the classroom experience for our students — students who will be critical to keeping hope for a healthier future for all alive for decades to come. At Ohio State, our graduate and professional programs provide unparalleled opportunities, made stronger by their connections to a robust health sciences network and to other disciplines — from engineering to law to the arts. Our Bachelor of Science in Public Health program, which offers a sociology or environmental public health focus, gives undergraduates a solid foundation for a career in public health. And our alumni are working on the front lines to ensure that children and adults all over the world have safe places to work, play and grow.
The college is ranked first in Ohio and in the top 25 nationally, according to U.S. News and World Report, which ranks our stellar Master of Health Administration program No. 5 in the nation and our health policy and management specialty 21st overall. What the rankings do not reflect, though, is one of the most important things about Ohio State’s College of Public Health: We’re a small community within a large university, where students receive personalized mentorship and support, from their first semester to their job search.
The College of Public Health is a leader in research, practice and education. I am honored to be a part of it, to interact with our dynamic alumni around the world and to deepen the connections with our community partners here in Ohio.
Dean Paula H. Song