Joan Selma Hult, PhD, a professor emerita in the Department of Kinesiology who was one of the one of the foremost sport historians on American women in athletics, died Aug 15, 2022 at the University of Maryland Laurel Medical Center. 

Boris D. Lushniak, dean of the University of Maryland School of Public Health, has been appointed to serve on the Board of Directors for the National Fitness Foundation by Xavier Becerra, Secretary of Health and Human Services.

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.