News from the School of Public Health

More than two years after the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic, the coronavirus is still killing more than 1,000 Americans a day. And while the situation in the country has been improving, Americans must still navigate decisions about when and how to safely return to different activities and routines that were taken for granted in our pre-pandemic lives. 

As a professor of family science at the University of Maryland School of Public Health, Dr. Smith-Bynum has spent her career studying African American mental health, family interaction and communication in ethnic minority families, parenting and racial identity.

Caitlin Waite, who is a program administrative specialist in the SPH Dean’s Office, recently moved to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. She and her fiancée Corbin, who has lived in the area his whole life, had the opportunity to explore a piece of little-known American history of African Americans at Blue Mountain. 

On Wednesday, March 9, 2022, this year’s Giving Day saw 296 donors—alumni, faculty, staff, students, parents and friends—come together to raise a total of $218,663 for the UMD School of Public Health! 

A new article by Dr. Jennifer Roberts and fellows with the Harvard JPB Fellowship begins with a painful reminder: “‘I can’t breathe’ were the last words spoken by Eric Garner (July 17, 2014), Javier Ambler (March 28, 2019), Elijah McClain (August 30, 2019), Manuel Ellis (March 3, 2020), and George Floyd (May 25, 2020).” All were Black men killed by the police. 

Deaths caused by drug overdoses in the United States topped 100,000 last year, and are increasing at a rate of 30% year over year. According to CDC data, we lose 136 people each day to overdoses. Cyndi Kershaw wants to speak out about her son’s recent tragic death from an overdose to raise awareness of the need for more and better strategies to help people with addiction.