University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. School of Public Health

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Public Health became the nation's fourth school of public health and first public university school of public health when it was organized as part of the University of North Carolina School of Medicine in 1936. By 1939, the School of Public Health became a separate school within the University and began awarding its first degrees by 1940. In 2008, the school was renamed the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Gillings School of Global Public Health.

From the description of University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Public Health photographic collection, circa 1930s-1990s. WorldCat record id: 43074566

Courses in public health were first offered at the University of North Carolina in 1933 in the School of Public Administration. With the discontinuation of the School of Public Administration in 1936, the Division of Public Health was established in the School of Medicine with Milton J. Rosenau as Director. The Division's emphasis on graduate-level training increased until, in 1940, it was designated as the School of Public Health, with Dr. Rosenau as Dean. The Division, and then the School, was an important force in the early public health movement in North Carolina. Currently the Dean of the School of Public Health reports to the Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs.

From the description of Records of the School of Public Health, 1930-1991 [manuscript]. WorldCat record id: 27117646

The School of Public Health became the nation's fourth school of public health and first public university school of public health when it was organized as part of the University of North Carolina School of Medicine in 1936. By 1939, the School of Public Health became a separate school within the University and began awarding its first degrees by 1940. In 2008, the school was renamed the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Gillings School of Global Public Health.

The School is made up of seven departments and one program: epidemiology; environmental sciences and engineering; health policy and management; public health nursing; health behavior and health Education; nutrition; biostatistics; and maternal and child health.

From the guide to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Public Health Photographic Collection, circa 1930s-1990s, (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. North Carolina Collection Photographic Archives.)

Training in the field of public health at the University of North Carolina began in the School of Public Administration in 1933. A major factor in the creation of the curriculum was recognition of the need for trained sanitary engineers to counter growing health problems in the Southeast. Throughout its early history, the University's public health program was closely tied to the North Carolina State Board of Health and to the United States Public Health Service.

With the discontinuation of the School of Public Administration in 1936, a Division of Public Health was established in the School of Medicine with Dr. Milton Joseph Rosenau as Director. Rosenau (1869-1946), a nationally important figure in public health and preventive medicine, came to Chapel Hill in 1936, after his retirement from Harvard University, where from 1909 to 1935 he had served as Charles Wilder Professor of Medicine. At Harvard, in 1913, he had established the first school of public health in the United States. Consolidated University President Frank Porter Graham personally wooed Rosenau out of retirement by promising to allow him a free hand in developing the program in public health at UNC. While the intent in establishing the program was to provide training for public health personnel in the South, Rosenau's reputation immediately attracted students from all over the nation.

Rosenau used his involvement in the American Public Health Association (of which he was president-elect at the time of his death) to secure prominent figures in the field as guest lecturers, thus supplementing the Division of Public Health's small staff. It was his presence in Chapel Hill that led the U.S. Public Health Service to move its venereal disease laboratory and its training center for health personnel for Interstate Sanitary District No. 2 (Delaware to Florida) from the Johns Hopkins University to UNC in 1936. Rosenau and State Health Officer Carl V. Reynolds worked together closely to develop the Division's program, with the State Board of Health funding many activities.

With the backing of the U.S. Public Health Service and the N.C. State Board of Health, the Division (and subsequently the School) was able to attract other support, notably from the Kellogg Foundation for continuing education, from the Rockefeller Foundation for syphilis research, and from the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation for research in venereal diseases. Despite the limited funding provided by the University, Rosenau quickly expanded the curriculum to include courses in public health administration, education, nursing, sanitation, nutrition, parasitology, industrial hygiene, statistics, and others. The faculty grew from one full-time position in 1936 to eleven in 1946.

The curriculum was originally geared for individuals already working in the public health profession. Few undergraduate students were enrolled. Beginning in 1939, emphasis was placed on graduate level training. Accordingly, in 1940 the Division of Public Health became a separate school offering master's and doctoral degrees. A cooperative program with North Carolina College at Durham (now North Carolina Central University) for the training of Negro public health professionals was established and maintained until UNC's School of Public Health was integrated in 1960.

The new School of Public Health, with Rosenau as Dean, continued to be housed with the School of Medicine. The two were originally located in Caldwell Hall, though courses in sanitary engineering were taught in Phillips Hall. In 1937 Rosenau and Dr. Herman G. Baity, Professor of Sanitary Engineering, used their connections with the U.S. Public Health Service and the Works Progress Administration to secure funding under the Social Security Act to erect a new building for Public Health and Medicine. Public Health was housed on the first floor of this building, now known as MacNider Hall, from 1939 until its move to Rosenau Hall in 1963.

Following Dr. Rosenau's death in 1946, Dr. Baity, then Chairman of the Department of Sanitary Engineering, was appointed Acting Dean. After protracted negotiations, Dr. Edward G. McGavran was appointed Dean in April 1947. McGavran turned his attention toward securing tenure for the School's faculty, increasing University funding, acquiring additional space for teaching and research, and expanding the School's scope and influence internationally. In the spring of 1948, the establishment of the Department of Field Training brought the number of departments in the School to eight.

The creation of the Division of Health Affairs in 1948 further stimulated the School's growth. The full-time faculty, which numbered fourteen in 1948, swelled to sixty-four by 1964. In large measure, this growth was a result of increased state support for faculty salaries and research facilities. The curriculum grew in scope and depth as new faculty representing new research interests were added to the staff. However, the original emphasis on field training remained constant.

In November 1962, the programs and staff of the School were finally gathered under one roof with the opening of Rosenau Hall. Dr. McGavran returned to full-time teaching on July 1, 1963, and Dr. W. Fred Mayes became the School's third Dean. He was succeeded on September 1, 1972, by Bernard G. Greenberg, Chairman of the Department of Biostatistics. The latter was replaced by Dr. Michel A. Ibrahim, Chairman of the Department of Epidemiology, on September 15, 1982. A complete list of the Deans and their tenures is given below:

During the recent period, the School's instructional program has been supported by eight departments: Biostatistics; Environmental Sciences and Engineering; Epidemiology; Health Behavior and Health Education; Health Policy and Administration; Maternal and Child Health; Nutrition; and Parasitology and Laboratory Practice.

The School's instructional program has also been supported by the Program on Aging, the Institute for Environmental Studies, the Curriculum in Public Health Nursing, the Occupational Health Studies Program, the Occupational Safety and Health Educational Resource Center, the Office of International Public Health Programs, the Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, the Division of Computing and Information Services, the Division of Community Health Service, as well as the administrative units of the Office of the Dean.

From the guide to the Records of the School of Public Health, 1930-1991, (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. University Archives.)