CUNY Graduate School leads push for health
equity during pandemic and beyond
By Chancellor Félix V. Matos
Rodríguez
Aiyana Braswell was a college
student in Houston when
COVID-19 reached the U.S.
in the spring of 2020. Aiyana,
who is Black, began working
as an EMT, saying she wanted
to work on the front lines and
“advocate for people who look
like me.”
“It was clear that the virus
was hitting certain communities,
such as my own, harder
than some other communities,”
Aiyana says. “And I wanted
to get involved.”
Fast forward 18 months
later: Aiyana is now a student
at CUNY’s Graduate School
of Public Health and Health
Policy (CUNY SPH) pursuing
an Advanced Certificate in
Public Health. She plans to
eventually complete a graduate
degree in epidemiology. “That’s
why I wanted to pursue public
health,” she says, “because
there’s a difference in how you
are treated based on your economic
status.”
It doesn’t surprise me that
Aiyana’s strong desire to make
a difference brought her to
CUNY SPH, one of CUNY’s
seven graduate, professional
and honors schools. As the pandemic
has reshaped our world,
the school has been particularly
well positioned to meet
the fast-evolving challenges of
these times.
Health Equity
Approach
Since its founding in 2016,
CUNY SPH has blossomed
into an invaluable resource for
scholarly research and community
engagement at a time when
New York — and the world —
has needed it most. Under the
leadership of Dean Ayman El-
Mohandes, a pediatrician with
a deep commitment to public
service, the school has grown
into a formidable institution of
advocacy for the eradication of
inequities in the public health
care system.
In just five years, the school
has doubled the size of its student
body to a record 949 students
registered this semester
while tripling its research
funding to more than $17 million
for the current academic
year. This year, CUNY SPH and
the NYC Department of Health
and Mental Hygiene received
a five-year, $3.3 million grant
from the National Institute of
Mental Health to help people
living with HIV achieve viral
suppression. The school also
received a $500,000 grant to
launch the Campaign for a
Food Secure CUNY, a new initiative
Contributing Writers: Azad Ali, Tangerine Clarke,
Nelson King, Vinette K. Pryce, Bert Wilkinson
GENERAL INFORMATION (718) 260-2500
Caribbean L 10 ife, OCTOBER 8-14, 2021
to help CUNY students
combat food insecurity, a problem
that was growing in scope
well before it was exacerbated
by the pandemic.
No doubt this is part of the
reason why CUNY SPH was
recently ranked 16th of 123
graduate schools of public
health across the nation, as
well as the top-ranked public
school of public health in the
New York tri-state area, by U.S.
News & World Report.
Local Focus, Global
Reach
With the onset of the COVID-
19 pandemic in March 2020,
the school became a valuable
source for expert perspectives
with its world-class faculty
and staff routinely quoted in
the national and global media.
The school’s regular surveys of
New Yorkers’ opinions on all
things COVID-related were an
important source of information
for health officials and
policymakers. The school’s
Institute for Implementation
Science in Population Health
(ISPH) monitored the pandemic
response and tracked antibody
test results among nearly
7,000 individuals nationally,
which helped schools better
prepare for remote or in-person
learning during the pandemic.
CUNY SPH’s research is
created locally, but its reach
is global. The school published
an international
study in Nature Medicine gauging
potential acceptance of a
COVID vaccine, which was
one of the first to address vaccine
hesitancy. And through
their CONVINCE USA initiative,
CUNY SPH has promoted
vaccine literacy and boost confidence
in life-saving COVID-19
vaccines.
Public Service Bent
This dedication to public
service is reflected in the
articulated ambitions of the
students it attracts. Students
such as Kevin Chin, who, after
working for nearly two decades
as an information technology
consultant in the health
care industry, decided to take a
break from his high-pressure
job. He returned to New York
in early 2020, just as the pandemic
hit, and the extra time
off gave him an opportunity to
reflect.
After much soul-searching,
Kevin enrolled in CUNY SPH
to pursue an MPH in Health
Policy and Management. “After
I complete my degree, I want to
look for jobs where I can help
enact better health care policies
that improve everyone’s
lives,” he says. “Not just the
lives of a few.”
It fills me with pride, hearing
how these students have
been motivated by the important
role that CUNY SPH has
played these past 18 months.
This pandemic is far from
over. But with each month,
we grow more optimistic as we
look to build a more equitable
post-pandemic future, and
New Yorkers know that CUNY
and its students are helping to
make that future a reality.
Félix V. Matos Rodríguez is
the chancellor of The City University
of New York (CUNY),
the largest urban public university
system in the United
States.
OP-EDS
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR are welcome from all readers. They should be addressed care of this newspaper to the Editor,
Caribbean-Life Publications, 1 MetroTech Center North, Brooklyn, New York 11201, or sent via e-mail to caribbeanlife@
schnepsmedia.com. All letters, including those submitted via e-mail, MUST be signed and the individual’s verifiable address
and telephone number included. Note that the address and telephone number will NOT be published and the name will
be published or withheld on request. No unsigned letters can be accepted for publication. The editor reserves the right to
edit all submissions.
Founded 1990 • Published by Brooklyn Courier Life LLC
A DIVISION OF SCHNEPS MEDIA
Corporate Headquarters: One Metrotech Center North, Suite 1001, Brooklyn, NY 11201
PRESIDENT & PUBLISHER: Victoria Schneps-Yunis
CEO & CO-PUBLISHER: Joshua Schneps
ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER: Ralph D’Onofrio
EDITOR EMERITUS: Kenton Kirby
ASSOCIATE EDITOR: Kevin Williams
This newspaper is not responsible for typographical errors in ads beyond the cost of the space occupied
by the error. All rights reserved. Copyright© 2021 by Brooklyn Courier Life LLC. Caribbean
Life is protected by Federal copyright law. Each issue of Caribbean Life is registered with the Library
of Congress, Washington, D.C. The Caribbean Life, its advertisements, articles and photographs, may
not be reproduced, either in whole or part, without permission in writing from the publisher except
brief portions for purposes of review or commentary consistent with the law.
Chancellor Felix V. Matos Rodriguez.
/schnepsmedia.com
