SPHHS Case Statement

Difference-Makers Ready to Change the World

The global pandemic has revealed an unavoidable truth: in an interconnected, multifaceted, and populous world, a strong and responsive public health and health care infrastructure is essential. For the UMass Amherst School of Public Health and Health Sciences (SPHHS), this is the ideal moment for us to accelerate our work and transform the health of millions.

We are fundamentally committed to achieving health equity and improving health outcomes for all—whether that work involves combating a global pandemic or an opioid epidemic, working to prevent chronic disease or food insecurity, advocating for global health or the environment, or striving toward healthy aging or optimal reproductive health.

But we can do more.

We can take on the most complex research challenges because the faculty and students who choose us are tremendously talented and insistent upon tackling the root causes of diseases that hold back individuals, communities, and society. We can foster even more collaborations within and beyond the university’s many schools and colleges. We can ensure that SPHHS is an environment that keeps outcomes-oriented research leaders engaged and productive—and empowers promising early-career faculty to excel and grow.

We must ensure leadership and innovation in our field incorporates diverse perspectives—that we truly live up to the egalitarian ideals of public health. We are not starting from square one: We’ve made great strides in keeping degree programs relevant and accessible, building on our university’s long history of working toward the goals of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). We have resolve and momentum on our side. But our work is far from done.

Our donors know SPHHS can move the needle in all these regards because our commitment is unwavering—and because, as part of a land grant university, we embrace our mandate to produce the ideas, discoveries, and new generations of leaders that will benefit as many people and communities as possible, as practically as possible, and as soon as possible.

We invite you to join our philanthropic community, and support our faculty, students, and programs in creating community-based and global solutions to some of the most complex and urgent challenges of our time.

CAMPAIGN GOAL: Preparing the Next Generation of Leaders of and for a Changing, Challenging World

Our students are not only future public health and health science leaders; but because the vast majority of our students remain in Massachusetts, they are also the future of the Commonwealth’s entire health infrastructure. They’re eager, inquisitive, and incredibly hard-working, and we must meet their selflessness, enthusiasm, and yearning to make a social impact with relevant, substantive, and intensely hands-on educational experiences: Research practicums, community- and industry-based internships, study abroad programs, field visits, and clinical and consultation services. Our alumni report these learning experiences have had a transformative effect on their lives and careers for years after graduation. We also know that not all students who would benefit from these experiences are able to take part. We must make these opportunities accessible to all students, regardless of their financial situation.

SPHHS offers a variety of department- and school-based scholarships and awards to undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in both public health and health science degree programs. Demand for professionals with these degrees is increasing. We are fortunate to be able to expand student enrollment—and we are committed to setting our students up for success by growing department, program, and scholarship funding.

This campaign calls on us to secure $7 million in funding for paid internships and thoughtfully designed practicums with community partners, as well as scholarships at all levels. We know how important the public health and health sciences workforce is to quality of life everywhere, and to the Commonwealth in particular—so we’re committed to strengthening and diversifying the workforce that serves communities.

Your contributions to scholarships and experiential learning programs make education possible—and more meaningful—for more students.

Student testimonial: Colleen Beatriz '21MPH

“I chose UMass because I wanted a school that saw public health issues as dynamic and multifaceted, and that didn’t back away from the complexities of issues around health and health inequities.”

Colleen Beatriz ’21

MPH student in biostatistics and epidemiology

CAMPAIGN GOAL: Research That Translates to Improved Health—Everywhere

Despite fierce competition for external research dollars, our faculty have continued to grow their research funding over the past decade—a reflection of the school’s quality. We are proud to see our researchers’ ideas transform from “What if?” to fully formed public health innovations in the marketplace. Still, exciting research questions abound: in data science, environmental exposures, speech and hearing, neuroscience and muscle biology, biomechanics, and beyond.

But funding streams are not all alike. Funders like the National Institutes of Health (NIH) usually offer narrowly restricted grants that build on proven foundations. Truly innovative, game-changing research is increasingly dependent on private philanthropy. Equally important, we must address the reality of the highly competitive marketplace for academic talent—especially in Massachusetts—and do more to retain and empower our faculty, wherever they are in their careers.

By securing $4 million for fixed-term professorships and endowed professorships, we can supply faculty with funding streams that enable research decisions to be driven by the strength and promise of an idea, unencumbered by red tape. This strategic investment will allow us to reward and keep these scholars actively leading research—and mentoring graduate and undergraduate students in the process.

We’re also inviting supporters to invest $2 million in an expanded set of interdisciplinary initiatives and partnerships that cut across campus and with industry and communities that provide economic and social benefits to the commonwealth.

And we’ll seek to raise $4 million to continue to create pathways for more students to participate in transformative research experiences—assistantships, paid summer- and semester-long internships, and field work. Research-active faculty attract students to the university and expose them to the depth and breadth of public health and health sciences. These are exactly the types of experiences that affirm students’ determination to solve real-world problems and bring value to their communities.

The generosity of our donors makes our work possible—and helps to improve the lives of individuals in the Commonwealth.