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News Release

Last modified: Friday, September 28, 2012

IU School of Public Health-Bloomington formally named, celebrated

The formal naming of two IU schools of public health advances IU's commitment to improving the health of Hoosiers

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sept. 28, 2012

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- With Friday's formal naming ceremony, Indiana University Bloomington's venerable School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation received a new name, IU School of Public Health-Bloomington, and a reinvigorated mission to advance novel, nontraditional approaches to addressing the state's public health needs.

University and school dignitaries, administrators, faculty and staff gathered in the Tony A. Mobley Auditorium at IU Bloomington to celebrate the formal renaming of the school, an important milestone in the IU Public Health Initiative, launched in 2009 to address critical health needs throughout Indiana.

"The new School of Public Health in Bloomington will, like its counterpart on our Indianapolis campus, address crucial health issues that affect the quality of life and the economic vitality of our state in very real ways," IU President Michael A. McRobbie said. "The new school in Bloomington will build on the exceptional work done for decades at our former School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation, as well as emphasize the Bloomington campus' strengths in areas such as environmental, social and behavioral health.

"The School of Public Health in Bloomington, with its focus on rural and community-based health research and practice, will serve as a perfect complement to our School of Public Health in Indianapolis, and combined, the two schools will play an unmatched role in improving the health and well-being of Hoosiers for generations to come."

The School of Public Health-Bloomington, which offers the oldest accredited Master of Public Health degree in the state, has almost 3,000 undergraduate and graduate majors pursuing longstanding and new degree programs in its departments of Kinesiology, Applied Health Science, Recreation, Park and Tourism Studies, Environmental Health and Epidemiology and Biostatics.

With a strong history in kinesthetic and wellness sciences, the school will focus on rural health, an important issue throughout the state, with a primary emphasis on community-based wellness. Faculty and staff will build upon strengths in social and behavioral health, environmental health sciences, epidemiology, and community-based research and practice.

"Our vision for our school is very simple," Interim Dean Mohammad Torabi said. "We collectively are committed to building on our strengths on the Bloomington campus and almost seven decades of our school's research, teaching outreach/service programs, and nationally renowned faculty to become one of the top-tier accredited schools of public health."

On Thursday, McRobbie presided over the naming ceremony for the IU Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. Indiana State Health Commissioner Gregory Larkin delivered the keynote address for both ceremonies.

The Richard M. Fairbanks Foundation last year gave IU $20 million to help establish the school in Indianapolis, which evolved from the Department of Public Health in the IU School of Medicine. The school will draw upon the resources of the IUPUI health sciences campus, including the faculty and programs of the School of Medicine and other campus health schools.

Together, these two schools of public health mark the only two such schools in the state. The schools are expected to enable IU to compete for federal and foundation funding that is available only to school of public health.

Attendees of the Bloomington naming ceremony included trustees and former deans. Also providing remarks were Vice President for Diversity, Equity and Multicultural Affairs Edwin Marshall, who also chairs the IU Public Health Coordinating Council; IU Executive Vice President and IU Bloomington Provost Lauren Robel; Torabi; clinical professor Katie Grove; and doctoral student Margo Mullinax.

For additional information, contact Charles Rondot, IU School of Public Health-Bloomington, at 812-855-1354 or crondot@indiana.edu; or Tracy James, IU Communications, at 812-850084 or traljame@iu.edu.

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