CUNY School of Public Health at Hunter College

About the School

Hunter College is a consortial partner and the lead institution in the CUNY School of Public Health (SPH). The CUNY SPH is comprised of public health degree programs at Brooklyn College, Hunter College, Lehman College and the Graduate School and University Center (Graduate Center) of CUNY. Within the CUNY SPH, teaching, research and service are focused on four broad inter-related goals that reflect major health challenges in the current era:

1) creating healthier cities

2) promoting healthy aging through the lifespan

3) preventing chronic diseases and improving their management

4) promoting health equity

The graduate programs in public health at the CUNY SPH at Hunter College educate public health professionals to promote health; prevent disease among urban populations. These programs prepare students to work with the diverse populations living in cities, and to serve in a variety of settings in government, non-profit organizations, businesses and communities.

CUNY SPH at Hunter College offers a master of public health (MPH) degree, with specializations in community health education (COMHE), environmental and occupational health sciences (EOHS-MPH), epidemiology and biostatistics (EPI-BIOS), public health policy and management (HPM) and nutrition (NUTR-MPH). It also offers a Master of Science (MS) degree, with specializations in environmental and occupational sciences (EOHS-MS) and Nutrition (NUTR-MS). The MS degree in Nutrition (NUTR-MS) is an accredited didactic program in dietetics (DPD), and is designed for individuals seeking to become eligible to sit for the national registration examination in dietetics to become credentialed as a Registered Dietitian (RD). With the Hunter-Bellevue School of Nursing, it also offers an MSN/MPH degree in community health nursing. This dual-degree program is described in the School of Nursing section of this catalog.

With the Graduate Center, the CUNY SPH at Hunter College offers a doctor of public health (DPH) degree, with specializations in community society and health, epidemiology, environmental and occupational health and public health policy and management. The DPH degree program is described in the Graduate Center Catalogue. Doctoral students in some CUNY Graduate Center PhD programs, including sociology and psychology, can also earn an MPH while pursuing their doctorate.

The MPH degree is accredited by the Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH), the national educational accrediting body for public health programs in community health/preventive medicine. The EOHS-MS degree is accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) and is geared towards students pursuing Certification in Industrial Hygiene. The NUTR-MS is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Dietetics Education (CADE), the accrediting agency of the American Dietetic Association (ADA).

During the fall and spring semesters, MPH and EOHS-MS courses are held once a week, Mondays through Thursday, in the late afternoon and evening. NUTR-MS courses are held during the day. MPH and EOHS-MS degrees can be pursued on a full or part-time basis. The NUTR-MS degree program is full-time. During the summer, there are a limited number of course offerings, which are held twice a week in the late afternoon and evening. During the January winter semester, there are a limited number of intensive courses which meet full days for one week or extended late afternoon/evening hours over a three week period.

The graduate programs at the CUNY SPH at Hunter College provide students with a broad multidisciplinary background in public, urban health and specializations in community health education, environmental and occupational health sciences, epidemiology and biostatistics, public health policy and management and public health nutrition.

Each specialization prepares students for specific job opportunities. Graduates of the community health education program plan and manage community health programs and interventions to reduce social and behavioral threats to health. Graduates of the environmental and occupational health program anticipate, identify, assess and control community and workplace exposure that jeopardize the health of populations. Graduates of the epidemiology and biostatistics program conduct health studies and apply their findings to improve population health. Graduates of the public health policy and management specialization work as analysts, managers and/or researchers to advocate for, administer, and/or analyze public health policies and programs. Public-health nutrition graduates promote the nutritional well-being of urban populations and manage community nutrition programs.

The NUTR-MPH specialization includes courses that meet the requirements of the Dietetic Internship (DI), a 1200-hour fieldwork and didactic experience accredited by CADE. Students who are accepted into the DI and successfully complete the program are eligible to sit for the national registration in dietetics to become credentialed as registered dietitians (RD). Students who enter the MPH program with a Bachelor of Science degree in nutrition that fulfills CADE competencies may simultaneously work toward the MPH degree and dietetics registration, two credentials that will increase skills and employability.

Centers

Three centers are affiliated with the academic programs in public health at Hunter College which provide opportunities the Center for Community and Urban Health the Brookdale Center on Healthy Aging and Longevity and the Center for Occupational and Environmental Health. They provide opportunities for students to become involved in demonstration projects and research through internships and independent study.

The Center for Community and Urban Health (CCUH) was founded in 1986. The center’s Director, Beatrice J. Krauss, PhD, is a full-time tenured professor at the SPH. The CCUH is dedicated to strengthening the capacity of individuals, families, organizations and populations to address and resolve contemporary community and urban health issues and concerns. The center conducts scientifically informed, interdisciplinary research and evaluation, program development, training and education, technical assistance and consultation and policy advisement. http://www.hunter.cuny.edu/schoolhp/centers/comm_urb/index.htm
The Brookdale Center for Healthy Aging & Longevity (BCHAL) was founded in 1974 and is one of the country’s first multi-disciplinary academic centers dedicated to the advancement of successful aging and longevity. Through research, education, training and evaluation of evidence-based models of practice and policy, it plays a vital role in enhancing the quality of life of older Americans and their families. Its current focus is on contributing the knowledge that can help cities to support healthy aging. The center’s Co-Director and Director of Research, Marianne Fahs, PhD, and Associate Director for Research, William T. Gallo, PhD, are both full-time tenured faculty at the SPH. http://www.brookdale.org/index.htm
The Center for Occupational and Environmental Health (COEH) was founded as a research, training and educational center whose mission is to promote community and workplace health. The Hunter COEH works with community-based organizations, schools, labor unions, private employers and federal, municipal and state agencies to promote better understanding, access to information and improved skills in addressing workplace and environmental hazards. The center’s Director, Professor Jack Caravanos, is a full-time faculty member in the SPH. Recent areas of COEH’s focus include: improving the skills of hazardous materials and emergency response workers, enhancing community-based research partnerships to address neighborhood air pollution, reducing asthma rates in New York City and training Community Health Workers. http://www.hunter.cuny.edu/health/coeh/.

In addition, Brooklyn College offers an MPH degree, with specializations in general public health and health care administration and policy; Lehman College offers an MPH degree with a specialization in community-based public health and health equity.

Programs and Courses

Programs and Courses in CUNY School of Public Health at Hunter College

Degrees Offered

MPH      Urban Public Health - MPH
MS/MPH Nursing: Community/Public Health Nursing/Urban Public Health MS/MPH Dual Degree
MS          Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences - MS
MS        Nutrition MS Programs and Courses in CUNY School of Public Health at Hunter College

Administration and Faculty

Administrative Office:

(212) 481-5111
cuny sph@hunter.cuny.edu
Website: http://www.hunter.cuny.edu/uph

Dean:

Kenneth Olden
Brookdale Center
610 West
(212) 481-4314
kolden@hunter.cuny.edu

Acting University Associate
Dean for Academic Affair:

Susan Klitzman
Brookdale Center
1020 West
(212) 481-5155
sklitzma@hunter.cuny.edu

Community Health Education Program:

Renata Schiavo, Ph
Brookdale Center
829-West
212-481-4352
renata.schiavo@hunter.cuny.edu

Epidemiology and Biostatistics Program:

Lorna Thorpe, PhD
Brookdale Center
1027W West
(212) 481-77580
lthor@hunter.cuny.edu

Environmental and Occupational
Health Sciences Program:

Jack Caravanos, DrPH
Brookdale Center
1007 West Building
(212) 481-7569
jcaravan@hunter.cuny.edu

Public Health Policy and Management Program:

Stacey Plichta, ScD
Brookdale Center
1000W West Building
(212) 481-7674
splichta@hunter.cuny.edu

Nutrition Program:

Arlene Spark, EdD
Brookdale Center
1000A West Building
(212) 481-7590
aspark@hunter.cuny.edu

Didactic Program in Dietetics:

Khursheed Navder, PhD
Brookdale Center
1015 West Building
(212) 481-5118
knavder@hunter.cuny.edu

Dietetic Internship:

Ann Gaba, EdD
Brookdale Center
1001 West Building
(212) 481-5112
agaba@hunter.cuny.edu

Faculty of the CUNY School of Public Health at Hunter College

Philip Alcabes, Professor, Urban Public Health; MPH, Columbia; PhD, Johns Hopkins; Epidemiology, Biostatistics, AIDS and HIV, Tuberculosis

Marilyn Iris Auerbach, Associate Professor, Urban Public Health; DrPH, Columbia; Women’s Issues, Chronic Illness, HIV/AIDS

Barbara Berney, Associate Professor, Urban Public Health; PhD, Boston University; School Related Health Issues, Working Conditions in Healthcare, Environmental Health and Environmental Health Policy

Jack Caravanos, Associate Professor, Urban Public Health; DrPH, Columbia; Industrial Hygiene, Environmental Assessments, Hazardous Wastes

Neal L. Cohen, Distinguished Lecturer, Urban Public Health; MD, New York University School of Medicine; Public Mental Health, the Interrelationship of Physical and Mental Well-Being, Stress

Jessie Daniels, Associate Professor, Urban Public Health; PhD, University of Texas at Austin; Internet and media, racial inequality, lgbt health, adolescent health

Jennifer Dowd, Assistant Professor, Urban Public Health; Ph.D, Princeton University; Integrating biomarking into social research, health disparities, stress and immune function

Marianne Fahs, Professor, Urban Public Health; PhD, Michigan; Public Health Economics and Policy, Urban Aging

Nicholas Freudenberg, Distinguished Professor, Urban Public Health; DrPH, Columbia; Urban Public Health, HIV Prevention, Public Health Policy

Ann Gaba, Assistant Professor, Urban Public Health; EdD, Teachers College, Columbia; Movement Disorders, Cancer Prevention, and Needs Assessment for Nutrition Education

William Gallo, Professor, Urban Public Health, PhD, University of Connecticut; Health Economics, Social Epidemiology, Health Policy

Mark Goldberg, Associate Professor, Urban Public Health; PhD, NYU; Industrial Hygiene, Exposure Assessment, Construction Health and Safety

David U. Himmelstein, Professor, Urban Public Health; M.D. Columbia; health care finance and policy, health services research, health care inequality, social justice

Shiro Horiuchi, Associate Professor, Urban Public Health; Ph.D, John Hopkins; Longevity and aging, health demography, quantitative methods of data analysis

Lydia Isaac, Assistant Professor, Urban Public Health; PhD, Johns Hopkins; Racial/ethnic health disparities; Social determinants of health; Chronic diseases; and Public Policy

Heidi E. Jones, Assistant Professor, Epidemiology, Urban Public Health; MPH, Hunter College; PhD, Columbia; Reproductive Health, HIV/AIDS, Infectious Diseases

Elizabeth Kelvin, Assistant Professor, Urban Public Health; PhD, Columbia ; Epidemiology, infectious diseases, including HIV , environmental causes of disease and international health.

Susan Klitzman, Professor, Urban Public Health; DrPH, Columbia; Environmental and Occupational Health and Disease Prevention

David Kotelchuck, Associate Professor Emeritus, Urban Public Health; PhD, Cornell; Occupational Health, Industrial Hygiene, Epidemiology

Beatrice Krauss, Professor, Urban Public Health; PhD, CUNY; Community, Family and Individual Adjustment to Health Threats;HIV/AIDS

May May Leung, Assistant Professor, Urban Public Health; PhD, RD, The University of North Carolina; Childhood obesity, Health Communication, Translational research

Thomas Matte, Professor, Urban Public Health; MD, Albany, Air pollution, climate and health, health disparities

Frank Mirer, Professor, Urban Public Health; PhD, Harvard; Toxicology, occupational health and safety, risk assessment, regulatory policy

Khursheed Navder, Associate Professor, Urban Public Health; PhD, Kansas; Lipid Metabolism, Alcohol Metabolism, Sensory Evaluation of Foods

Denis Nash, Associate Professor, Epidemiology, Urban Public Health; PhD, University of Maryland; Public Health Surveillance, Health Disparities, and HIV/AIDS

Stacey Plichta, Professor, Urban Public Health; ScD, Johns Hopkins; Health Services Research, Women’s Health, Intimate partner violence, rape and sexual violence

Lynn Roberts, Assistant Professor, Urban Public Health; PhD, Cornell; Adolescent Health, Violence and Prevention, Minority Health

Diana Romero, Associate Professor, Urban Public Health; PhD, Columbia; Poverty and maternal, child and reproductive health; racial/ethnic health disparities, reproductive health policy

Renata Schiavo, Associate Professor, Urban Public Health: PhD, University of Naples, Italy, MA, New York University; Strategic health communication for behavioral, social, and organizational change; program evaluation; global health

Mary Schooling, Associate Professor, Urban Public Health, PhD, UC London

Arlene Spark, Professor, Urban Public Health; EdD, Columbia; Pediatric Nutrition, Nutrition Education, Cardiovascular Health and Promotion

Makram Talih, Associate Professor, Urban Public Health; Ph.D, Yale; Statistics, Data Analysis, Health Disparities Measurement

Lorna Thorpe, Associate Professor, Urban Public Health; Ph.D, University of Illinois at Chicago; Chronic disease epidemiology, public health surveillance, tuberculosis and injury epidemiology

Steffie Woolhandler, Professor, Urban Public Health; M.D. LSU New Orleans, MPH U.C. Berkeley; health care finance and policy, health services research, health care inequality, social justice

Ming-Chin Yeh, Associate Professor, Urban Public Health; PhD, North Carolina, Public Health Nutrition, Nutrition Intervention and Policy, Nutritional Epidemiology