The University of Maryland College Park School of Public Health has been established to advance the public health needs and policies of our state and beyond.  We will influence the public’s health in the state of Maryland and beyond through discovery.  This will require leveraging the resources of the state’s flagship university; translating research, teaching, practice into healthy public policy; and delivering a new generation of collaborative public health leaders.  The School resides on the flagship campus for the University of Maryland system and directly addresses UMCP’s goal to achieve “excellence as the State’s primary center of research and graduate education” (Mission and Goals Statement, 2006). Creation of a nationally accredited School of Public Health is identified as a strategic priority in the University’s most recent Mission and Goals Statement, approved by the Board of Regents in February 2006.  The School contributes to the University’s diversity goal as it seeks to recruit and retain diverse faculty, graduate students, and staff; conduct public health studies with underrepresented groups; and become a leader in health disparities research.   And as part of the flagship campus the University of Maryland College Park School of Public Health will leverage the resources of our campus and other Institutions to play a key role in addressing Maryland’s chronic and pervasive health problems.

As a land grant institution for higher education it is a mandate that the University of Maryland at College Park provide education and research for the welfare of the citizens of this state. An accredited School will help the University to fulfill its Land-Grant mission by increasing the number, scope, and impact of collaborative community partnerships and health outreach activities. For example, an important focus of research in the School of Public Health will be the reduction of health disparities among ethnic minority populations in the state.  HIV mortality rates in Maryland are 12 times higher in the African American population than in the White population, and diabetes-related deaths are twice as common among African Americans as Whites. African Americans are 25-30% more likely to suffer from cancer or a heart disease-related death than Whites in Maryland. State data also reveal health disparities among children. The neonatal mortality rate (first 28 days of life) is almost three times greater for African American than White newborns, and the infant mortality rate (first year of life) is more than two and a half times higher for African American than for White infants (Horon & Hayman, 2005).   This research then translates into quality outreach programs for the community in Maryland such as our Seat Pleasant Community Partnership, the Adult Health and Development Program, the Family Services center and the many programs under our center on Aging.

Equally important the creation of the School of Public Health further supports major goals of the 2004 Maryland State Plan for Postsecondary Education (2004). The State Plan recommends that Maryland colleges and universities provide high quality education and workforce training in five priority areas, one of which is “health and the environment.” Institutions are encouraged to educate professionals in these high-demand, state workforce shortage areas and to “collaborate with State agencies, health care providers, and other organizations to provide assistance in addressing these critical (health) issues” (Maryland State Plan, 2004, p.12).   A second focus is the development of a Public health infrastructure.   Recent studies highlight the national shortage of well-trained public health personnel.  A 2003 Institute of Medicine (IOM) report, Who Will Keep the Public Healthy?, called for immediate efforts to address the “insufficient and inadequately trained public health workforce” (IOM, 2003, p.1) and reverse the “overall shortage of qualified workers to prevent or respond to major outbreaks of infectious disease” (IOM, 2003, p. 7-8). The IOM report further stressed the need for graduate-level public health professionals to tackle the effects of environmental change on disease occurrence and the impact of lifestyle choices on health status and wellness.

The Institute of Medicine estimates that there are approximately 450,000 people employed in public health positions in the United States, and an additional 2.85 million citizens who volunteer their services. Notably, the Institute estimates that 80% of public health workers lack specific public health training, and only 22% of chief executives of local health departments have graduate degrees in public health (IOM, 2003). Approximately 85 million baby boomers are nearing age 65 at a time when Americans are spending 16% of GDP on health-related expenditures, many linked to the aging process (Smith, Cowan, Sensenig,  Catlin, 2006). Maryland is currently facing cost increases in all programs serving the elderly. 

Finally, the School also addresses three other major State Plan goals:  to support and encourage basic and applied research; to provide affordable, equitable access to higher education for every qualified Maryland resident; and to provide high-quality academic programs for a population of increasingly diverse students (Maryland State Plan, 2004).  With its emphasis on social and behavioral determinants of health and commitment to discovery, the School will enrich the public health infrastructure in Maryland by providing trained personnel to implement prevention/intervention initiatives designed to help Marylanders change their behaviors. Additional strengths of the School and the University, in areas of genomics, environmental science, family science, economics, informatics, and public policy, will prepare students to design multidisciplinary solutions to health problems and take a leadership role in working with state and federal legislative agencies to address current and emerging health challenges.

Maryland ranks among the states with the highest per capita incidence of cancer mortality (9th), coronary heart disease mortality (15th), teen birth rate (15th), child death rate (16th), cardiovascular disease mortality (21st), and stroke mortality (23rd) (United Health Foundation, 2004; USDHHS, 2003). Maryland residents also exceed the national average in their rates of pre-term births, infant mortality, teen deaths, HIV-related deaths, diabetes, and deaths from firearms (Annie E. Casey Foundation, 2006; United Health Foundation, 2004; USDHHS, 2003).

In addition, serious environmental health problems within the state underscore the need for public health interventions.   According to the Maryland Department of the Environment, the current quality of outdoor air in the state contributes to increasing rates of both cancerous and non-cancerous air-related diseases (Clean Energy Partnership, 2005). Maryland ranks among the worst states in the nation for hazardous air pollutants, with EPA estimating that pollution from power plants causes approximately 630 hospital admissions, 1,000 nonfatal heart attacks, and 700 premature deaths in Maryland each year (Environment Maryland, 2004). The status of Maryland’s water is also of serious concern due to problems of nitrogen and phosphorus pollution from agricultural runoff and other sources (Chesapeake Bay Foundation, 2006). One consequence of these pollutants is the threat of Pfiesteria piscicida, a microscopic organism linked to difficulties in human learning and concentration and other neuropsychological symptoms. U.S. PIRG data further reveal that Maryland has a mercury health advisory on all its rivers and lakes, including the Potomac River (Clean Energy Partnership, 2005).

Our School’s commitment to excellence in academics that will provide solutions to these concerns and  create a public health presence for  advancing a state of health.