Building workforce capacity
Dean James W. Curran
Every day, Rollins students and alumni are building public health capacity in our city and across our state.
CDC, our next-door neighbor, employs more than 400 alumni, many of whom give generously of their time to mentor students. Less than five miles from Rollins are other major partners—CARE USA, the American Cancer Society, the Arthritis Foundation, the Carter Center, the Task Force for Global Health, the Georgia Department of Public Health, and local health departments—where students and alumni work together in this public health capital of Atlanta.
Our students’ engagement in the workforce keeps growing. Last year, Rollins established the federally funded Emory Public Health Training Center, which places students at local and state agencies to spearhead projects that support underserved populations. The RSPH Practical Experience Program employs more than 400 students throughout the Atlanta area in partnership with approximately 50 employers. As they often attest, our students contribute much-needed skills, ideas, and manpower to help the nonprofit sector operate daily. Nancy Paris, president of Georgia CORE (Center for Oncology Research and Education) and a longtime member of the RSPH Dean’s Council, states, “I value every day the high caliber of students from Rollins. As a leader in health care, that’s important to me. It’s imperative to provide the highest quality education possible to sustain our workforce in Georgia.”
This issue is dedicated to our current and future students and alumni who are the workforce of the present and future that assures the conditions of health throughout the world.
Sincerely,
James W. Curran, MD, MPH
James W. Curran Dean of Public Health
