The Fall Semester Marks New Beginnings in Public Health

A brand-new cohort of nearly 800 master’s and doctoral students arrived on campus last week for several days of orientation. They will be joined by returning students, as the 2024-25 academic year begins on September 3.

The new class of students comes from 43 U.S. states and territories and 41 countries, bringing an average of nearly four years of work experience, and many have advanced degrees in medicine, law, pharmacology, business, social work, education, and more.

In welcoming remarks on Monday morning, Dean Linda P. Fried told incoming students they were embarking on public health studies at the right time. “Public health is more important than ever,” she said, pointing to challenges from climate change and pandemic risk to structural racism and mass migration. “This is a crucial moment in time for public health and your public health leadership.”

Dean Fried then led the incoming class in a recitation of the Public Health Oath, after which Vice Dean for Education Michael Joseph introduced Heather Butts, Assistant Professor of Health Policy and Management, and Robert “Dr. Bob” Fullilove, Associate Dean for Community and Minority Affairs. Butts discussed the power of public health partnerships with communities. Fullilove spoke about his life and work at the intersection of public health and social justice. That afternoon, Fullilove and community leader David “Coach Dave” Crenshaw led a group of doctoral students on a neighborhood tour while master’s students met with their academic departments.

Members of the incoming class brimmed with enthusiasm about being in New York City and embarking on their graduate degree programs. “I’m so excited,” gushed Jiawa Zhang, a new master’s student in Biostatistics from Harbin,China. “Since I was a child, I have loved this city. I’ve achieved my dream. I want to save lives and protect health, millions at a time.”

A pair of Summer Public Health Scholars Program (SPHSP) graduates are now both pursuing an MPH in Population and Family Health. Yusra Ahmed, a University of Florida alum, is interested in bridging the gap between academia and community needs. “It’s been a dream to do an MPH,” she said. Tejashree Prakash, who worked as a public health researcher at the University of Utah after earning a BS in 2023, added, “It feels right.”  

Emma Kaishian, MPH ’21, earned a master’s in Health Policy and Management during the early surge of the COVID pandemic and is now back to pursue a DrPH in Environmental Health Sciences. While working as an assistant director of programs at Columbia Law School’s Human Rights Clinic and Human Rights Institute, she developed an interest in addressing the disparate impacts of climate change on vulnerable communities. “It’s a crucial moment in history,” she says. “We need to come together as a collective to address these challenges before it’s too late.”