New WVU School of Public Health officially opens

“West Virginia has historically been ranked at the bottom of the lists on many health and mental health measures and indicators,” Christopher C. Colenda, M.D., M.P.H., WVU Chancellor for Health Sciences, said. “This new School will be an asset to the people across the state who are working to solve our health problems.”

 The students are enrolled in three graduate degree programs: Master of Public Health (122), M.S. in School Health Education (35), and Ph.D. in Public Health Sciences (22).  The School includes five disciplines of study: biostatistics; epidemiology; health policy, management and leadership; occupational and environmental health sciences; and social and behavioral sciences.

 Along with the new students, the School welcomed 13 new faculty members.

 “Our new faculty now add to the teaching and research repertoire of our new School,” Alan Ducatman, M.D., interim founding dean of the School of Public Health, said. “We will soon be graduating job-ready students who will become leaders in public health and producing research that makes a difference in people’s lives.”