Jha to resume role as dean of Brown School of Public Health

DR. ASHISH K. JHA on July 1 is returning to his post as the dean of the Brown University School of Public Health. / AP FILE PHOTO/ELISE AMENDOLA
DR. ASHISH K. JHA on July 1 is returning to his post as the dean of the Brown University School of Public Health. / AP FILE PHOTO/ELISE AMENDOLA

PROVIDENCE – Dr. Ashish K. Jha is coming back home to once again lead the Brown University School of Public Health.

The Ivy League institution announced late Thursday that Jha will resume his post as the public health school’s dean on July 1. Jha had been on temporary leave from the School of Public Health for the last 14 months serving as the White House COVID-19 response coordinator for the Biden administration.

Jha was appointed as the response coordinator in March 2022, leading the United States’ fight against the viral disease and the pandemic that spread across the world in March 2020. Now, with the federal COVID-19 public health emergency expired as of last month, Jha will return to Brown’s public health school in less than a month.

Ronald Aubert has led Brown’s public health school since Jha went to Washington, D.C. After Jha’s return, Aubert will take on the permanent role of senior associate dean of education at the school, Brown said.

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Jha in a statement said his return offers an opportunity to employ insights from the nation’s pandemic response as educators across the health school focus on training the next generation of public health leaders. He also said for all that everyone accomplished to reduce illness and save lives during the pandemic, COVID-19 “has exposed the weaknesses in our public health and health care systems.”

“I look forward to returning to Brown to continue our groundbreaking work transforming public health education, research and practice to convert these weaknesses to strengths,” Jha said.

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

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