André Blackman '05 was an aerospace engineering major, but a public health elective sent his life on a different trajectory when he learned how tuberculosis disproportionately sickened Black communities.

“Didn’t we eradicate tuberculosis like 5,000 years ago, why is it still a thing?” he recalled wondering. “The other question is, why for this particular community?”

“We’re so afraid of aging that we begin to devalue ourselves and others with each passing year,” Isabel Tom, an MPH graduate from the Department of Behavioral and Community Health, wrote. “The phrase '30 years old' incites panic. Seniors live in separate communities and barely interact with young people, while middle-aged people spend millions each year on anti-aging products.”

But what if we have it all wrong? 

The racism and discrimination that Black people regularly experience gained wider recognition after the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer shook the world in June 2020. The stress and trauma associated with experiencing racism and violence has negative impacts on health, particularly among young Black men.

The COVID-19 pandemic has increased risk factors for child maltreatment. A group of researchers, including Assistant Professor Elizabeth Aparicio in the University of Maryland School of Public Health, drafted a policy brief to urge policymakers to adapt existing child and family services and policies to ensure the safety, resilience, and overall well-being of vulnerable children and families in the face of increased stressors.

Clara Richards wants young professionals to know that it’s okay to not have it all figured out. She’s experienced that herself and says it has made her stronger. She has dedicated herself to helping fellow millennials, who define themselves as creators and builders, to find community and create “expansive impact” through her social entrepreneurship project called The Community Cooperative. She feels this mission is even more important in the context of the coronavirus pandemic.

The School of Public Health is pleased to announce the members of the 2020-2021 Alumni Network Board.

With members spanning the spectrum of young professionals early their careers to experienced industry leaders, the board is comprised of greater Washington area alumni who are seeking to uphold the network’s mission to promote and support the school, encourage academic and professional excellence and facilitate career development for both current students and graduates while fostering and strengthening a lasting relationship between the school and its alumni.

Doctoral students John P. Salerno (behavioral and community health) and Natasha D. Williams (family science) highlight the structural, social and individual-level challenges faced by LGBTQ persons in the context of COVID-19 and propose strategies to mitigate their psychological trauma in a commentary published in the Journal of the American Psychological Association. Both Salerno and Williams are research staff in the UMD Prevention Research Center. 

We, the faculty, staff, and students of the University of Maryland Department of Behavioral and Community Health, strongly condemn anti-black violence that has resulted in the recent murders of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, Sean Reed, and many others. We extend our thoughts, anguish, and sympathies to their families, friends, and the broader black community. Unequivocally, we stand against the persistent and systemic racism that continues to disproportionately impact black people.

A public health crisis like the COVID-19 pandemic has only made the digital divide more visible, though the researchers' analysis was done long before the pandemic. Working adults and children haven't been able to easily shift to a virtual environment during the pandemic, as they don't have the laptops, smartphones, networked printers, broadband and wifi connections to make the shift.

Duane J. Wallace II earned both his bachelor's (Behavioral and Community Health) and master's degrees from the University of Maryland School of Public Health. Duane is a project director at Shattuck & Associates, Inc., where he provides public health evaluation services to federal, state, local and grassroots social service agencies and organizations. He is also a doctoral candidate and adjust professor at Morgan State University.