UW Regents Approve Establishment of UWM’s School Of Public Health

Pending Final Review by Wisconsin Legislators

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» The Approval Process
» Accreditation Timeline

Read the update to the 2006 Report to UW Regents

Ten reasons to build a School of Public Health at UWM

1. Following national trends, more than 50% of Wisconsin’s public health workforce is aged 50 years or more, and in the next decade there will be a critical shortage of these workers. An accredited school of public health will train the next generations of public health workers in each of the disciplines.
2. The majority of Wisconsin’s public health workers do not have formal public health training. In addition to formal academic programming including at least three PhDs and an MPH, the school of public health at UWM will offer public health certificates for those public health workers already in service. Many courses will be available online to provide distance learning across the state.
3. UWM has substantial expertise in public health research, education, and service.
4. UWM has a critical mass of faculty in three of the five public health disciplines required for accreditation (i.e. environmental health; health policy and administration; and behavioral health).
5. UWM has substantial research base funded by National Institute of Health (NIH). NIH gives additional funding to accredited schools of public health. With a school of public health at UWM, the university will be able to grow in research extramural funding, which will benefit the economy of the city and the state.
6. Milwaukee has some of the worst health disparities in Wisconsin and in the U.S. Accredited schools of public health conduct critical research that informs policy makers who address public health needs.
7. UWM enjoys a large and growing network of community collaborations including local health departments, health providers, environmental organizations, medical schools, businesses and other organizations.
8. Stakeholders in the community, including the honorable Mayor Tom Barrett, have expressed significant interest in establishing a school of public health in Milwaukee.
9. There are 39 accredited schools of public health and 14 public health training centers in the U.S., none of which are located in Wisconsin.
10. An accredited school of public health at UWM will promote initiatives that are consistent with the Wisconsin state health plan, Healthiest Wisconsin 2010.