Newswise — Chancellor M. Roy Wilson, MD, MS, of the University of Colorado Denver announced today that he has appointed Richard F. Hamman, MD, MPH, DrPH, current professor and chair of the Department of Preventive Medicine and Biometrics at UC Denver School of Medicine, as founding dean of the new Colorado School of Public Health.
The planned Colorado School of Public Health is a collaboration of three of Colorado's public universities: the University of Colorado Denver (lead institution), Colorado State University and the University of Northern Colorado. The School of Public Health will enable more students to receive public health training, speed interdisciplinary research development and provide access to training and research funds only available to accredited schools of public health.
"Dr. Hamman brings excellent credentials and experience to this position and has worked tirelessly with our partner institutions and the public health community," said Dr. Wilson. "I am confident he will lead the new school effectively and know he has the support of our CSU and UNC partners."
Since serving on Governor's Blue Ribbon Panel on the Future of Public Health in 1989, Dr. Hamman has been working with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, public health leaders, Colorado's health foundations and the three universities to form a school of public health in Colorado. Hamman noted: "The development of a new school is an enormous opportunity for Colorado and the Rocky Mountain West, as there are no schools of public health in the 9-state region. I am honored to be selected as the founding dean."
As a member of the faculty at UC Denver School of Medicine, Dr. Hamman has educated medical and public health students in the field of epidemiology over many years. His research interests focus on epidemiology and the prevention of chronic diseases, specifically diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Dr. Hamman has studied diabetes epidemiology in American Indians since 1973 and his recent research has emphasized community-based studies with the Navajo Nation and in Colorado's San Luis Valley Hispanic population. A nationally recognized researcher, he is the national Vice-Chair of the Diabetes Prevention Program Outcome Study, a nation-wide study to prevent type 2 diabetes and an investigator in the SEARCH for Diabetes in Youth registry project, identifying trends in diabetes in six sites across the United States.
Hamman is active in the American Diabetes Association, from whom he received the Kelly West Award, the highest award for Excellence in Diabetes Epidemiology; the Society for Epidemiologic Research; and is a fellow of the American College of Epidemiology, the American College of Preventive Medicine, and the American Epidemiologic Society. He has published more than 230 scientific journals and has received multiple National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) grants. He has served on the Diabetes Advisory Council of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment and has consulted with local health agencies.
Dr. Hamman holds a bachelor of science degree in biochemistry from Michigan State University, a medical degree from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and a MPH and a DrPH from the Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health. He completed his internship in medicine at the University of Washington, and a residency in preventive medicine at Johns Hopkins.
As the founding dean of the new Colorado School of Public Health, Dr. Hamman will oversee the development of the school to meet the regional demand for academic and research programs to improve the health of the population. The Colorado School of Public Health anticipates more than 400 students enrolled in its advanced degree and continuing education programs. The planned school will open for the first class of students in July 2008, providing new educational and research opportunities to the state. Based on the experiences of other new schools of public health around the country, extramural research funding is anticipated to grow significantly.
Funding for the new Colorado School of Public Health has come from the partnering universities, the Colorado Health Foundation, Caring for Colorado Foundation, the Colorado Trust, the Rose Community Foundation, the Colorado Foundation for Public Health and Environment, Great West Life, Kaiser Permanente Colorado, the Colorado Public Health Association and many individuals.
About the Colorado School of Public Health Initiative
The Colorado School of Public Health Initiative is a joint endeavor among the University of Colorado Denver, Colorado State University and the University of Northern Colorado to open the region's first and only school of public health in July 2008 to be accredited by 2010. Once formally established, this collaborative school will serve the needs of the public health workforce and the diverse communities in the Rocky mountain region by incorporating public health graduate degree programs at each of the three institutions with distance learning, continuing education, community outreach and public health research. For more information, please visit the website at http://www.coloradoSPH.org.
About the University of Colorado Denver
The University of Colorado Denver is one of three universities in the University of Colorado system. Located in Denver on the Downtown Campus and at Ninth & Colorado Blvd., and on the Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora, Colo., University of Colorado Denver is Colorado's premier research university offering more than 100 degrees and programs in 12 schools and colleges and serving more than 28,000 students in Metro Denver and online. For more information, visit the web site at http://www.ucdhsc.edu
About the University of Northern Colorado
The University of Northern Colorado commits to the success of its students by providing a solid liberal arts foundation, relevant professional coursework and real-world experiences in an environment where faculty and staff value personal attention as a key to learning. Located in Greeley, the university offers more than 100 programs of study in five colleges that include a nationally recognized business school, innovative heath and human sciences programs and award-winning theater arts and teacher education programs, all supported by a cornerstone curriculum in the humanities and social sciences. With its rich 118-year history, dedicated faculty, active students and Division I athletic teams, the University of Northern Colorado is large enough to provide true university opportunities and small enough to treat students as individuals. More information: http://www.unco.edu
About Colorado State University
A 21st-century land grant institution, Colorado State University educates more students from Colorado than any other campus and more students in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines " those vital for driving Colorado's workforce of the future - than any other Colorado campus. Colorado State is one of the state's leading research universities with research expenditures totaling nearly $300 million this year. The university solves some of the world's most difficult problems from its laboratories and regularly spins off new companies and partnerships in nationally recognized programs that address sustainability and renewable energy and cures and therapies for cancer and infectious disease. For more information, visit the Web site at http://www.colostate.edu
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