ATLANTA—Nearly 150 Georgia State University School of Public Health alumni, supporters, faculty, staff and doctoral students gathered at the 2023 APHA Annual Meeting for a homecoming reception that commemorated the school’s 10th anniversary.
More than 2,000 Georgia State SPH alumni are making a difference in communities in Georgia and around the world.
“The School of Public Health was created to address the growing demand for a well-educated public health workforce and to capitalize on Atlanta’s status as a global hub of public health expertise,” said Dean Rodney Lyn. “In a relatively short period of time, our school has produced more than 2,000 outstanding alumni and garnered nearly $150 million in externally sponsored funding for research and outreach. I’m proud of our collective accomplishments and am optimistic about what the future holds for our school.”
The Georgia State SPH is one of the most diverse schools of its kind, where 70% of students are members of a minority group. The school’s top alumni employer is the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and its alumni can also be found at local and state agencies, non-profit organizations and in the private sector.
Over the past decade, sponsored funding for research and service in the Georgia State SPH has exceeded $148 million. In the past fiscal year alone, SPH researchers earned $17.8 million in sponsored funding from federal agencies such as the National Institutes of Health and the CDC, as well as state agencies such as the Georgia Department of Human Services and foundations that include that CDC Foundation. The $17.8 million total in FY 23 represents a nearly 80% increase from the $10 million in sponsored funding just four years ago and is the second highest-level in the school’s history.
To guide its continued growth and work to advance health equity, the SPH has adopted its Vision 2027 Strategic Plan. With four broad goals and 16 priority initiatives, the plan seeks to support student success, expand interdisciplinary and applied research, nurture local and global partnerships, and ensure operational excellence.
“By investing in student support, the recruitment and retention of world-class faculty, and partnerships that seek to advance health equity, our school is building on the strong foundation that was laid a decade ago,” Lyn said.
Writer: Sam Fahmy, [email protected]