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.

Congratulations Spring 2020 graduates! We are so proud of your accomplishments and with the future of public health in your hands, we feel hopeful about the future.

College Park, Md. — COVID-19 worries children from sub-Saharan Africa more than children from other parts of the world, an international study of children’s knowledge, perceptions and stress during the pandemic found. A research team asked questions to more than 4,000 children aged 9-12 in 42 countries during the month of April 2020.

Near the end of each academic year, the School of Public Health faculty, staff, students, families and friends join together for the special occasion of honoring our outstanding students through the SPH Convocation ceremony.

Two faculty members from the School of Public Health, Shannon Jette and Elizabeth Aparicio, received Graduate Faculty Mentor of the Year awards from the University of Maryland Graduate School.