Colorado School of Public Health Expands with American Indian and Alaska Native Addition
(December 15, 2008) - American Indian and Alaska Native Programs (AIANP) at the University of Colorado Denver will formally join the Colorado School of Public Health (CSPH) on January 1, 2009. The integration will move AIANP from the School of Medicine Department of Psychiatry to CSPH.
As a result of the move, AIANP faculty will begin teaching, mentoring, and collaborating with other CSPH faculty in public health education and research.
According to AIANP Director Spero Manson, CSPH “offers a natural intellectual landscape for [AIANP] work,” most of which focuses on community-based, epidemiologic and preventive intervention research. In return Dr. Manson believes AIANP provides CSPH with a “new population focus and can reach out to tribal colleges for student recruitment and teaching opportunities.”
For CSPH Dean Richard F. Hamman, AIANP provides “excellent rapport and strong working relationships across the country,” specifically with native communities throughout the western states and Alaska. This foundation better positions CSPH to serve the diverse communities of the Rocky Mountain region, with particular emphasis on CSPH’s mission to eliminate health disparities. “Joining together should enhance our mutual ability to make great progress toward this important objective,” noted Dean Hamman.
While AIANP offices will physically remain at the Nighthorse Campbell Building, the organizational move will integrate AIANP faculty and leadership into CSPH departments and administration. The Faculty will receive primary appointments in departments, and AIANP will become a CSPH school-wide center. AIANP and existing CSPH faculty will both benefit from new opportunities made possible by this transition.
For more information about American Indian and Alaska Native Programs, please visit http://aianp.uchsc.edu or find their link under CSPH Centers.