Better
HEALTH
for
EVERYONE
Joe C. Wen School of Population & Public Health champions health equity through research, teaching, service and real-world practice
By Kirsten Weir
Better
HEALTH
for
EVERYONE
Joe C. Wen School of Population & Public Health champions health equity through research, teaching, service and real-world practice
By Kirsten Weir
Better
HEALTH
for
EVERYONE
Joe C. Wen School of Population & Public Health champions health equity through research, teaching, service and real-world practice
By Kirsten Weir
In the spring of 2020, as COVID-19 was shutting down schools and businesses, UC Irvine’s public health students sprang into action. Working with the Orange County health department, faculty and students helped conduct a study testing thousands of community members for COVID-19 antibodies in their blood. It was early in the pandemic, before tests for the virus were widely available. The study provided some of the first estimates of how many people in Southern California had already been infected – and, critically, how much of the population was still at risk.
“Our students aren’t just learning public health – they’re doing it,” says Bernadette Boden-Albala, professor of health, society and behavior and founding dean of the newly created Joe C. Wen School of Population & Public Health. The school, which officially launched in July 2024, grew from UC Irvine’s highly respected Program in Public Health.
The transition from a program to a school is more than just a name change, Boden-Albala explains. It’s a step toward better health for all populations, in Orange County and around the world. “Public health professionals are on the front lines of addressing some of the most complex and pressing issues of our time,” she says. “[This] represents a significant investment by our campus’s leadership to create, innovate and inspire change in the field of public health and address the challenges, locally and globally, that we face today.”
Bernadette Boden-Albala (third from right), professor of health, society and behavior and founding dean of the Joe C. Wen School of Population & Public Health
Public health professionals are on the front lines of addressing some of the most complex and pressing issues of our time.
Public Health in the 21st Century
The COVID-19 pandemic brought public health into the national conversation. Yet responding to disease outbreaks is just one of many critical roles for the field in the 21st century. Today’s public health workforce addresses wide-ranging topics: preventing chronic illnesses like heart disease and cancer; assessing the health impacts of wildfires and a changing climate; understanding the health effects of chemicals and microplastics in the environment; tackling problems such as gun violence, food insecurity and mental illness – and the list goes on.
In other words, the need for a skilled public workforce has never been greater, Boden-Albala says. Meanwhile, the spread of health misinformation has intensified in recent years. Rising distrust in science and skepticism about evidence-based health recommendations put everyone’s well-being at risk. Against that backdrop, it’s a key time for the newly created Joe C. Wen School of Population & Public Health. Named in recognition of a $50 million gift from the Southern California businessman and his family, the school is housed within the Susan & Henry Samueli College of Health Sciences. (Specifically, $42.5 million of the gift was for the school and the rest for cardiovascular services within UCI Health.)
Boden-Albala joined UC Irvine as founding dean in 2019, with the intention of helping the Program in Public Health evolve into a full school. It was already an excellent program, she says. But she and her colleagues saw a need for more. Expanding the program would mean increased opportunities for students and additional chances for students and faculty to make a positive impact in their communities.
Orange County is the sixth-largest county in the United States. It’s a tapestry of diverse racial and ethnic populations but also home to extreme disparities in wealth and access to healthcare resources. “There’s a tremendous diversity in this county, but there was no school of public health here to serve it,” Boden-Albala says.
In becoming a school, the program grew from one department to four. New faculty members were recruited to add areas of expertise that would complement the already impressive work being done by the program’s existing core faculty. “We also revisited our curriculum, sharpening it to make sure it’s modernized and brought up to the full speed one would expect from a top school of public health,” says Scott Bartell, professor of environmental and occupational health and associate dean of academic affairs at Wen Public Health.
Public Health in the 21st Century
The COVID-19 pandemic brought public health into the national conversation. Yet responding to disease outbreaks is just one of many critical roles for the field in the 21st century. Today’s public health workforce addresses wide-ranging topics: preventing chronic illnesses like heart disease and cancer; assessing the health impacts of wildfires and a changing climate; understanding the health effects of chemicals and microplastics in the environment; tackling problems such as gun violence, food insecurity and mental illness – and the list goes on.
In other words, the need for a skilled public workforce has never been greater, Boden-Albala says. Meanwhile, the spread of health misinformation has intensified in recent years. Rising distrust in science and skepticism about evidence-based health recommendations put everyone’s well-being at risk. Against that backdrop, it’s a key time for the newly created Joe C. Wen School of Population & Public Health. Named in recognition of a $50 million gift from the Southern California businessman and his family, the school is housed within the Susan & Henry Samueli College of Health Sciences. (Specifically, $42.5 million of the gift was for the school and the rest for cardiovascular services within UCI Health.) Boden-Albala joined UC Irvine as founding dean in 2019, with the intention of helping the Program in Public Health evolve into a full school. It was already an excellent program, she says. But she and her colleagues saw a need for more. Expanding the program would mean increased opportunities for students and additional chances for students and faculty to make a positive impact in their communities.
Orange County is the sixth-largest county in the United States. It’s a tapestry of diverse racial and ethnic populations but also home to extreme disparities in wealth and access to healthcare resources. “There’s a tremendous diversity in this county, but there was no school of public health here to serve it,” Boden-Albala says.
In becoming a school, the program grew from one department to four. New faculty members were recruited to add areas of expertise that would complement the already impressive work being done by the program’s existing core faculty. “We also revisited our curriculum, sharpening it to make sure it’s modernized and brought up to the full speed one would expect from a top school of public health,” says Scott Bartell, professor of environmental and occupational health and associate dean of academic affairs at Wen Public Health.
To eliminate health disparities, we need to look at the communities that traditionally have the least access to healthcare and to health information. Having a strategy to address those issues is going to be so critical as we think about public health in the 21st century.
Scott Bartell, professor of environmental and occupational health and associate dean of academic affairs at Wen Public Health
To eliminate health disparities, we need to look at the communities that traditionally have the least access to healthcare and to health information. Having a strategy to address those issues is going to be so critical as we think about public health in the 21st century.
Scott Bartell, professor of environmental and occupational health and associate dean of academic affairs at Wen Public Health
To eliminate health disparities, we need to look at the communities that traditionally have the least access to healthcare and to health information. Having a strategy to address those issues is going to be so critical as we think about public health in the 21st century.
Scott Bartell, professor of environmental and occupational health and associate dean of academic affairs at Wen Public Health
Hands-On Learning
While it’s bigger and better than ever, Wen Public Health has stayed true to its roots. UC Irvine’s Program in Public Health was founded in 2003, and from the beginning, it was designed to cut across areas of study to provide students with real-world skills. “Our vision was to create a truly multidisciplinary public health program where students would learn the methods to bring their knowledge to bear on truly multidisciplinary problems,” says Oladele Ogunseitan, Distinguished Professor of population health and disease prevention, who led the establishment of the Program in Public Health.
At the time of its founding, most public health programs were centered around the Master of Public Health degree. Ogunseitan and his colleagues recognized a demand for an undergraduate program. They created two degree options: a B.A. in public health policy and a B.S. in public health sciences. It was the first time that bachelor’s degrees in public health had been offered in the University of California system, and enrollment quickly skyrocketed.
Today, UC Irvine’s undergraduate program in public health is among the largest in the country, with 1,442 students this year.
Their energy, in turn, helped attract new faculty hires as the program expanded and evolved, Ogunseitan says. “Our students are the real heroes,” he adds. “They have their own public health clubs and annual events and are so motivated to engage with the community.”
It’s common for master’s students to do hands-on public health work in their communities. But UC Irvine was a leader in requiring practical experience for undergrads too. Students get real-world practice working alongside public health practitioners in organizations and agencies such as the Orange County health department. “Our students get exposed to what real public health work is like,” Bartell says. “And in many cases, those experiences lead to students getting hired full time after they complete their degree.”
Hands-On Learning
While it’s bigger and better than ever, Wen Public Health has stayed true to its roots. UC Irvine’s Program in Public Health was founded in 2003, and from the beginning, it was designed to cut across areas of study to provide students with real-world skills. “Our vision was to create a truly multidisciplinary public health program where students would learn the methods to bring their knowledge to bear on truly multidisciplinary problems,” says Oladele Ogunseitan, Distinguished Professor of population health and disease prevention, who led the establishment of the Program in Public Health.
At the time of its founding, most public health programs were centered around the Master of Public Health degree. Ogunseitan and his colleagues recognized a demand for an undergraduate program. They created two degree options: a B.A. in public health policy and a B.S. in public health sciences. It was the first time that bachelor’s degrees in public health had been offered in the University of California system, and enrollment quickly skyrocketed. Today, UC Irvine’s undergraduate program in public health is among the largest in the country, with 1,442 students this year.
Their energy, in turn, helped attract new faculty hires as the program expanded and evolved, Ogunseitan says. “Our students are the real heroes,” he adds. “They have their own public health clubs and annual events and are so motivated to engage with the community.”
It’s common for master’s students to do hands-on public health work in their communities. But UC Irvine was a leader in requiring practical experience for undergrads too. Students get real-world practice working alongside public health practitioners in organizations and agencies such as the Orange County health department. “Our students get exposed to what real public health work is like,” Bartell says. “And in many cases, those experiences lead to students getting hired full time after they complete their degree.”
Oladele Ogunseitan, Distinguished Professor of population health and disease prevention
UC Irvine public health students partnered with the Orange County health department in spring 2020 to test thousands of community members for COVID-19 antibodies.
Oladele Ogunseitan, Distinguished Professor of population health and disease prevention
UC Irvine public health students partnered with the Orange County health department in spring 2020 to test thousands of community members for COVID-19 antibodies.
Health Equity for All
The work students are doing touches on nearly every aspect of public health. They have volunteered at food banks and in AIDS clinics, for county health offices and with community organizations. They’ve helped lead workshops on women’s health and met with Latino and Vietnamese families and groups to promote health behaviors that reduce the risk of heart disease. Further afield, students have participated in global public health projects in places like Africa and Asia.
“We’re doing amazing work, listening and helping in partnership with communities to solve real problems,” Boden-Albala says. “And when students graduate and go out into the world, they’re prepared to address these big problems.”
The only school of public health in Orange County, Wen Public Health is now even better equipped to take on society’s most urgent health challenges. As students venture beyond classrooms to make a difference in people’s lives, the school’s faculty are leading the charge to establish effective health policies, communicate health messages clearly, better understand how diseases spread and improve well-being for all.
“Public health has become politicized, but there’s nothing political about wanting optimum health for everyone,” Boden-Albala says.
That goal – better health for all – is fundamental to the school’s mission. To help achieve it, Wen Public Health created the Department of Health, Society & Behavior, centered around health equity. Everyone, no matter who they are, where they live or how much money they make, has a right to good health, Bartell says. “To eliminate health disparities, we need to look at the communities that traditionally have the least access to healthcare and health information,” he continues. “Having a strategy to address those issues is going to be so critical as we think about public health in the 21st century.”
As a brand-new school, Wen Public Health is well positioned to help solve the biggest health challenges of our time, Boden-Albala adds. “We have to engage with all communities to focus on the problems at hand, and being new and nimble will really be to our advantage,” she says. “There are a lot of challenges ahead, but the philosophy of Wen Public Health, with our emphasis on equity for all, is going to carry us through.”
Health Equity for All
The work students are doing touches on nearly every aspect of public health. They have volunteered at food banks and in AIDS clinics, for county health offices and with community organizations. They’ve helped lead workshops on women’s health and met with Latino and Vietnamese families and groups to promote health behaviors that reduce the risk of heart disease. Further afield, students have participated in global public health projects in places like Africa and Asia.
“We’re doing amazing work, listening and helping in partnership with communities to solve real problems,” Boden-Albala says. “And when students graduate and go out into the world, they’re prepared to address these big problems.”
The only school of public health in Orange County, Wen Public Health is now even better equipped to take on society’s most urgent health challenges. As students venture beyond classrooms to make a difference in people’s lives, the school’s faculty are leading the charge to establish effective health policies, communicate health messages clearly, better understand how diseases spread and improve well-being for all.
“Public health has become politicized, but there’s nothing political about wanting optimum health for everyone,” Boden-Albala says.
That goal – better health for all – is fundamental to the school’s mission. To help achieve it, Wen Public Health created the Department of Health, Society & Behavior, centered around health equity. Everyone, no matter who they are, where they live or how much money they make, has a right to good health, Bartell says. “To eliminate health disparities, we need to look at the communities that traditionally have the least access to healthcare and health information,” he continues. “Having a strategy to address those issues is going to be so critical as we think about public health in the 21st century.”
As a brand-new school, Wen Public Health is well positioned to help solve the biggest health challenges of our time, Boden-Albala adds. “We have to engage with all communities to focus on the problems at hand, and being new and nimble will really be to our advantage,” she says. “There are a lot of challenges ahead, but the philosophy of Wen Public Health, with our emphasis on equity for all, is going to carry us through.”
By the Numbers
In July 2024, the UC Irvine Program in Public Health officially became the Joe C. Wen School of Population & Public Health. Here’s a snapshot of the school in its first official year.
1st school of public health in Orange County
4 departments
- Environmental and occupational health
- Epidemiology and biostatistics
- Health, society and behavior
- Population health and disease prevention
8 degrees
- B.A. in public health policy
- B.S. in public health sciences
- Master of Public Health (M.P.H.)
- M.S. in environmental health sciences
- M.S. in epidemiology
- Ph.D. in public health
- Ph.D. in environmental health sciences
- Ph.D. in epidemiology
faculty members
undergraduate students
graduate students
UC Irvine Magazine is produced by the Office of Strategic Communications & Public Affairs.
To contact the editor, email ucimagazine@uci.edu.