EMORY RANKS AMONG TOP 10 IN PUBLIC HEALTH AND PHYSICAL THERAPY, TOP 20 IN MEDICINE, TOP 25 IN BUSINESS AND TOP 30 IN LAW, SAYS U.S. NEWS

March 10, 1997

Media Contacts: Sarah Goodwin, 404/727-3366 - sgoodwi@emory.edu
Kathi Ovnic, 404/727-9371 - covnic@emory.edu
http://www.emory.edu/WHSC/

Rollins School of Public Health becomes the first graduate school at Emory University ranked among the top 10 in the nation by U.S. News & World Report.

The school places ninth among accredited master's of public health (MPH) programs in rankings to be published in the March 10 issue of the newsweekly. The nation's 56 accredited MPH programs include 28 accredited schools of public health.

"This recognition by our colleagues in academic public health is particularly gratifying for one of the youngest of the nation's public health schools," says James W. Curran, M.D., M.P.H., dean, Rollins School of Public Health. "Our growth since the school's creation almost seven years ago has been quite remarkable, in the size and quality of our faculty and student body -- almost quadrupling our original numbers to 675 M.P.H. students and 60 Ph.D. students -- and in our research strengths that make us the second-highest ranked school at Emory in terms of research funding with $18.2 million awarded last year."

Also well placed in the magazine's rankings are the medical school's physical therapy program, ranked sixth; the medical school itself, which placed 19 out of 125 medical schools (24 in '96; 23 in '95); the Goizueta Business School's MBA program which ranked 23 out of 292 accredited MBA programs (22 in '96; 23 in '95); and the law school, which ranked 29 out of the nation's 178 accredited law schools (23 in '96; 25 in '95). The law school's program in trial advocacy, the Trial Techniques Program, was ranked in the top 10 by faculty experts in that field.

Emory's graduate programs in public health, medicine, business and law are therefore the highest ranked schools in the state, according to U.S. News & World Report.

ROLLINS SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH

Public health master's program rankings were determined by tallying reputation surveys completed by deans, faculty members and administrators of accredited graduate programs in public health.

"It's very gratifying when national rankings reflect what we already know about our excellent programs," says Michael M. E. Johns, M.D., executive vice president for Health Affairs and director of The Robert W. Woodruff Health Sciences Center of Emory University. "The Rollins School of Public Health is truly a resource, to the nation as well as Atlanta, and it's a tribute to the dean, faculty and students themselves that it should be ranked among the top 10 within a few short years of its founding."

According to Dean Curran, "The M.P.H. program lies at the heart of the school, drawing students from across the world. It is frequently sought as a dual degree by students in Emory's schools of business, medicine, nursing, law, and Soviet, Post-Soviet and East European studies. Atlanta can share in our pride, since we believe the school and our partnerships with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, The Carter Center, American Cancer Society, C.A.R.E., Atlanta University Center, corporate partners, and state and local public health agencies, are making Atlanta the public health capital of the world."

SCHOOL OF MEDICINE

In addition to its overall 19th place ranking, the medical school also rose in all specific categories measured in 1996, ranking 24 in student selectivity (34 in '96; 34 in '95), 8 in faculty resources (10 in '96; 10 in '95), 29 in research activity (31 in '96; 33 in '95), 22 in reputation by academics (23 in '96; 25 in '95), and 19 in reputation rank by intern/section directors (20 in '96; 19 in '95).

"The School of Medicine continues to rise among this and other rankings, now 19th among research institutions, and even more significantly, the 20th ranked school for federal funding.

"The sixth place ranking of the medical school's physical therapy program continues from last year and reflects the program's enormous success in recruiting and training the top students in the nation," Dr. Johns says. "Today's patients and many hundreds of thousands of people in the future will benefit from the quality these rankings represent.

For more general information on The Robert W. Woodruff Health Sciences Center, call Health Sciences News and Information at 404-727-5686, or send e-mail to hsnews@emory.edu.