SPHTM ranks in top 10% of schools: Staying on the Front Lines

Dee Boling dboling@tulane.edu
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Photo of Tulane SPHTM building on Canal Street with red street, Graphic reads "Top 10% of Public Health Schools and Programs in the US"

COVID-19 put the spotlight on public health. Suddenly, everyone began talking about epidemiology, contact tracing, herd immunity, and more, and interest in careers in public health has skyrocketed.

Amidst the surge of interest, the Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine (SPHTM) is honored to maintain its position among the top 10% of schools and programs of public health, according to U.S. News. Over the past decade, programs of public health have proliferated, but Tulane has continued to stand out as a leader in the field, a position the school has held since it was the first such school established in the U.S. in 1912. The school was also a leader in online education, offering its first “distance learning” courses in 1992. SPHTM has expanded its online offerings over the past two years, with a slate of new online programs anticipated over the next few years. 

As part of that leadership, the school is hosting a number of National Public Health Week events, including a town hall with school leadership. The town hall, “Staying on the Front Lines,” will explore how COVID-19 has impacted the school, the ways the school is focusing on the student experience, and how equity, inclusion, and diversity are vitally important not just to the school but to the future of public health. The panelists will also cover careers in public health, related issues impacting the nation and the world, and new initiatives at the school.  

The town hall will feature leaders from several different areas of the school: 

  • Dean Thomas LaVeist, a nationally renowned expert and the Weatherhead Presidential Chair in Health Equity


  • Dr. Alicia Battle, associate dean for online programs with a long history of health education and a commitment to comprehensive student success


  • Dr. Eva Silvestre, assistant professor and director of the International Health and Sustainable Development MPH program


  • Leslie Bayonne, department administrator for the Office of Student Experience

With more than 100 years of experience as the only combined school of public health and tropical medicine in the U.S., the Tulane School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine is well positioned to prepare the next generation of professionals to take on future challenges to the public’s health.