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With our spring semester past the halfway point, I am pleased to share with you the many exciting things that are happening in the College of Public Health. Thanks to the generosity of Kent State University alumnus and former CPH faculty Chuck Hart, the College can now boast the endowment of the new Environmental Health Pathways Fund first established during Giving Tuesday 2023. The scholarship will support students interested in becoming environmental health specialists, a field facing a significant shortage here in Ohio and nationally. On behalf of CPH students, I am extremely grateful to Chuck and to his wife Christine for their incredible gift, as it will have a lasting impact not only on future generations of environmental health specialists, but also on our communities.

I am also proud to announce that the College has taken steps to fill the need of addiction counselors in Ohio. A new partnership with the College of Education, Health and Human Services (EHHS), will make the Addictions Counseling Certificate Program (ACCP) available to our master’s students in social and behavioral sciences, and allow them to complete it during their degree.

In this issue of the newsletter, you will read stories about public health champions that are taking risks and overcoming obstacles to secure good health for themselves, their families, and their communities. You will meet Alan Talarczyk, who from a 1.9 high school GPA is planning to go to medical school; and Dr. Wesley Vins, health commissioner for the Columbiana County Health District, who supervised the public health response to the East Palestine train derailment. You will get to know Portage County Health District’s environmental health specialist Emily Speck, who works every day to keep our water safe; and MPH online students who are currently serving in the military, in the U.S. and overseas. 

Be sure to review the list of events in celebration of National Public Health Week, April 1-7, 2024. From mental health to gun violence, from the built environment, to sustainability, to AI, the week has a variety of presentations offered online or in person.

I wish you all the best for a successful end of the semester and the coming summer. CPH faculty, staff, alumni, and friends, thank you for all that you do each day to impact our students and the field of public health.