PROVIDENCE – The current faculty director of the Harvard Global Health Institute has been appointed as the new leader for the Brown University School of Public Health.
The Ivy League university announced Wednesday that Dr. Ashish K. Jha will assume the role as the school’s new dean on Sept. 1. He succeeds Bess Marcus, who will finish her term as dean this summer and will return to full-time research and teaching at Brown.
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Jha, who is also a practicing general internist at the V.A. Boston Healthcare System and a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, will oversee the School of Public Health’s academic departments, research centers, doctoral and master’s programs, and undergraduate programs as its dean, Brown said. Among his upcoming responsibilities for the school, Brown said, include developing and executing strategies to “expand sponsored research funding” and elevate the School of Public Health’s profile and impact both “locally and globally.”
Brown said Jha will also cultivate a “diverse and inclusive academic community” by providing administrative oversight and ensuring fiscal strength at the School of Public Health.
Jha said in a statement that the most significant health problems currently affecting society demand a “multi-disciplinary approach,” and Brown faculty and students “live that in addressing major challenges.”
“The fact is, as Brown demonstrates, academic institutions function best when they partner with public health agencies and individuals to test ideas,” Jha said. “It’s not a standard model for every university but it is for Brown, and that’s part of what makes me so enthusiastic about this new and important opportunity to be part of a community making a difference, locally and globally.”
Brown President Christina H. Paxson and Provost Richard M. Locke said in a statement that Jha is an “accomplished” scholar and leader who is committed to advancing Brown’s mission to “address pressing societal issues” through research, teaching and service.
“The School of Public Health is central to Brown’s aspirations to make a difference in the world through consequential research, teaching and engagement, and we look forward to working closely with Dr. Jha as he assumes this critical role.”
James Bessette is the PBN special projects editor, and also covers the nonprofit and education sectors. You may reach him at Bessette@PBN.com. You may also follow him on Twitter at @James_Bessette.
