News from the School of Public Health

Alice Horowitz, who retires from the University of Maryland this summer at age 89, has been a leading advocate and researcher in dental public health and in health literacy efforts. One of her crowning achievements was establishing SPH’s Herschel S. Horowitz Center for Health Literacy (HCHL), named after her late husband, an internationally renowned dental epidemiologist, educator and public health advocate. 

The COVID-19 pandemic and its impacts have taken a disproportionate toll on American mothers who were pregnant or just gave birth. Maternal mortality (i.e., deaths during pregnancy or in the early postpartum period) increased by 18% in 2020, according to data from the National Center for Health Statistics, exceeding the ~16% increase in overall US mortality in 2020.

Beginning July 1, Dr. Tracy Zeeger will serve as Assistant Dean for Public Health Practice and Dr. Sylvette La Touche-Howard will serve as Assistant Dean for Community Engagement for the new Office of Public Health Practice and Community Engagement. With Dr. Zeeger and Dr. La Touche-Howard’s leadership, the School will expand opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students to gain practical experiences in public health.

Dr. Mia Smith-Bynum, professor of Family Science at the University of Maryland School of Public Health, participated in a Q&A with WalletHub where she discussed key factors to improve racial equality in political and social opportunities.

Dr. Mona Mittal, associate professor of Family Science at the University of Maryland School of Public Health, was recently invited to discuss trauma in higher education classrooms on the podcast TraumaTies: Untangling Societal Harm and Healing After Crime produced by the Network for Victim Recovery of DC.

A new law passed by the Maryland General Assembly establishes the