Welcome to the Arnold School of Public Health

G. Thomas Chandler

Thank you for your interest in the University of South Carolina’s Arnold School of Public Health! Our nation’s public health system functions as a network of local, state, federal and academic entities that face daily an array of challenges from bioterrorism, substance abuse, at-risk behaviors, traumatic injuries, chronic disease, mental health, and environmental/occupational hazards. The Arnold School is a critical component in this integrated system, and, through the generosity of our benefactor Mr. Norman J. Arnold, it is one of seven accredited schools of public health in the US that are nominally endowed. It was founded in 1975 with a charge to improve South Carolinian’s health and environment through education, research and practice programs pursued jointly with state and federal health agencies. Those collaborative efforts began with only one state partner and seven faculty. Today we collaborate with > 100 agencies and NGO’s to create a remarkably diverse set of educational and training opportunities for prospective students in the Arnold School. I became interested in public health more than twenty years ago when AIDS was emerging as a global catastrophic illness (but one largely preventable through public health education and prevention), when the benefits of regular exercise to personal and community health were just becoming recognized, and when the pressure of global population growth steamrolling beyond 5 billion people was just beginning to yield recognition that gene:environment interaction, pollution and global climate change were a primary academic public health concern. Today, these old “new” concerns are still with us, but they are matched almost daily by emerging ones… childhood obesity, West Nile virus, H5N1, Creutzfeldt-Jakob, nanomaterials, endocrine disruptors. The primary difference today is that the opportunities and resources to address these issues are more available and sophisticated than at any time in human history. With the detailed sequencing of the human genome and consequent bioinformatically-based biomarkers of “predisposition to disease”, this will truly be the “biomedical” century, and public health applications will lead the way. Genomics, molecular- and nano-scale sciences, geographic and neurological imaging technologies, remote sensing, and modern behavioral sciences and computing will integrate into and be strongly influenced by public health needs. Faculty and staff in the Arnold School maintain diverse public health interests, but they are also deep in their skillsets with these new technologies. Students need only to avail themselves of the expertise and facilities on hand in our school. In October 2006, we became the first building in the new USC Innovista research campus. This campus is building a strong emphasis (and abundant student opportunities) in cutting-edge biomedical, public health, engineering, clinical and social sciences. The Arnold School is a key leader in this developing enterprise, and NOW really is the most exciting time ever to be a student at Carolina.

The Arnold School is a comprehensive school offering degree programs in the traditional core fields of public health — epidemiology, biostatistics; health promotion and education; health administration; and environmental health sciences. In addition, we offer degree programs in the specialty areas of exercise science, and speech pathology and audiology — two disciplines with strong and obvious roots in public health. Our faculty and staff are committed to preparing public health professionals to address all areas of public health, to disseminate critical information about disease prevention, and to conduct research aimed at improving human health and environmental quality. The Arnold School of Public Health is accredited by the Council on Education for Public Health. All of our eligible degree programs are also accredited by their national accrediting agencies. This accrediting process assures you that your education will conform to the expectations of employers in your chosen professional field. As an academic discipline, public health offers more opportunities for personal growth and satisfaction than any field I know. Public health is dynamic and diverse but holds at its core the daily goal of keeping the public healthy, “well”, and safe by encouraging physical activity and nutrition, preventing chronic disease, minimizing risks of injury at home and at work, alleviating communicative disorders in children and adults, preventing daily exposures to toxins and pathogens, designing effective policy for health care delivery, and educating the public about the health risks of negative personal behaviors such as smoking, unprotected sex, and alcohol/drug abuse. I encourage you to carefully consider the wide array of degree programs offered by the Arnold School. As you learn more on the following pages about our faculty, staff, and students — if you have questions — please contact me (tchandler@sc.edu) or the department chairs and graduate directors.

G. Thomas Chandler
Interim Dean, Arnold School of Public Health