Linda Rosenstock to Step Down as Dean of the UCLA School of Public Health

UCLA Office of the Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost 

To: Administrative Officers, Deans, Department Chairs, Directors, School of Public Health Faculty and Staff, and Vice Chancellors

Dear Colleagues:

Linda Rosenstock, dean of the UCLA School of Public Health (SPH), has informed me that she would like to step down as dean by July 1, 2012. Linda has been a tremendous asset to the school, to UCLA and to the University of California, and we will miss her leadership greatly. 

Before joining UCLA, Linda served as director of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. Upon her arrival here in November 2000, Dean Rosenstock launched an ambitious strategic plan and a series of initiatives that have increased the school’s investment in research productivity and expanded its community engagement, both in Los Angeles and in global health activities. 

During her tenure, Linda has recruited many talented faculty members to an already world-class faculty conducting cutting-edge research around the globe and preparing the best and brightest public health students for leadership roles around the world. Since 2000, the school has recruited 27 new tenure track faculty members; this faculty renewal has added to the ranks of junior faculty and significantly increased the number of women and underrepresented minorities. Also during this time, faculty contract and grant activity has more than tripled, with ladder rank faculty generating an average of more than $850,000 per year, one of the highest records on campus. Not surprisingly, UCLA is consistently rated one of the top 10 schools of public health by U.S. News and World Report.

SPH students come from more than 35 countries and represent one of the most diverse student bodies among all public health schools. During Linda’s tenure, the number of applications received by the school has soared nearly 50 percent, creating a more competitive student body, and the school launched a very popular public health minor. In addition, Students of Color for Public Health (SCPH) was established to support the school’s diverse student population. SCPH has developed public health courses in the community to encourage students from underserved areas to study public health. 

Since Linda’s arrival, the school has enhanced its development program, which has made increased funds available for students, many of whom have tremendous need for financial support. Since 2000, the school has raised nearly $90 million from individual donors, foundations and corporations. Endowments exceeding $5 million each have created the Bixby Center on Population and Reproductive Health and the UCLA Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Equity. Linda secured more than $30 million in state and congressionally directed funds to develop the Global Bio Lab at UCLA.

Linda has always been willing to take on leadership roles on behalf of the university. She has served as a member of the UC’s Advisory Council on Future Growth in the Health Professions and Advisory Committee on Global Health Initiatives, and UCLA’s Campus Space Committee; chaired search committees for the dean of nursing, the dean of life sciences and the vice provost for international affairs; and led the Chancellor’s Initiative on Global Health. Linda has also continued to play a role as a national leader on health issues, serving as co-chair of the Institute of Medicine (IOM) committee that authored the report, “Who Will Keep the Public Healthy? Educating Public Health Professionals for the 21st Century;” chair of the Association of Schools of Public Health; chair of the Taskforce on National Public Health Workforce; chair of the Society of Medical Administrators; member of the Advisory Group on Prevention, Health Promotion and Integrative and Public Health (appointed by President Obama); and chair of the IOM committee on Clinical Preventive Services for Women, which proposed landmark expansion of first-dollar coverage for such services as well women visits and family planning.

We plan to work with Dean Rosenstock on this transition throughout the upcoming academic year and we anticipate ample time and opportunity to thank her for her leadership and commitment to UCLA. We are grateful for her service to UCLA and UC, as well as her national leadership throughout her tenure.

In the coming months, I will form a search committee to identify candidates for Linda’s successor and will keep you informed as we initiate the search.

Sincerely,

Scott L. Waugh 
Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost