From the Dean

Dear Friends,

I am looking forward to welcoming you to the first-ever School of Public Health Alumni and Friends Scholarship Gala. The gala, along with two other reunion-themed events, will be held on April 10 in Minneapolis. The events offer a one-of-a-kind opportunity to reconnect with classmates and professors, network with public health colleagues from around the country, and support the next generation of public health leaders. The gala will feature what no doubt will be a rousing keynote address by former Surgeon General Richard Carmona. Visit www.mmf.umn.edu/sph/nphw for more information. I hope to see you there!

I am proud to report that in 2007 the SPH generated $92 million in extramural research, the second largest contribution in the University of Minnesota, behind the Medical School, and we have the most productive faculty, per capita, of any unit at the University (or any other school of public health, for that matter). This is remarkable in the face of what amounts to decreased funding for research from the National Institutes of Health and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. I can¿t thank our faculty and staff enough for their continued commitment to advancing critical health research.

The cover story features the all-encompassing topic of informatics, a discipline that blends health data and information systems in myriad ways to foster a greater understanding of the health status of a community, health trends, and the efficiency of the practice of health care in all its facets. The SPH has great depth in many areas of health informatics that is greatly bolstered by a new leader at the helm of the Academic Health Center¿s Institute for Health Informatics, Julie Jacko. Dr. Jacko holds a joint appointment in the School of Nursing and the School of Public Health.

Yours in health,

John R. Finnegan Jr., Ph.D.
Dean and Professor
Assistant Vice President for Public Health