Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, has approved the establishment this summer of the School of Public Health at the university. The university has appointed Terrie “Fox” Wetle as the inaugural dean of the new school. She currently is the associate dean of medicine for public health at the university. Dr. Wetle will be in charge of the effort to gain accreditation for the new school, a process that should take about two years. At the present time, there are 49 schools in the United States that have been accredited by the Council on Education for Public Health.
“We are excited for the opportunity to become an accredited school, which is a clear reflection of the level of scholarship and scale we’ve achieved in public health at Brown,” Dr. Wetle said. “From here we’ll expand our capacity to address key population health issues in a global society in alignment with Brown’s philosophy and commitment to interdisciplinary excellence, social change, and public service.”
Currently, there are 261 students enrolled in public health programs at the university, including more than 40 doctoral candidates.
Before coming to Brown University in 2000, Dr. Wetle was deputy director of the National Institute on Aging. Earlier in her career, she taught at Harvard Medical School, the Yale School of Medicine, the University of Connecticut, and Portland State University. Dr. Wetle holds bachelor’s, master’s, and Ph.D. degrees, all from Portland State University in Oregon.