Strengthening the Public Health Workforce: South Central Public Health Training Center Receives New Funding

David Gladow dgladow@tulane.edu

The South Central Public Health Training Center (SCPHTC), formerly known as the Region 6 Public Health Training Center, has received a new four-year award from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) totaling nearly $4 million.

The new award is expected to support the center’s mission to strengthen the public health workforce across the South Central United States.

Tulane University’s Celia Scott Weatherhead School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine houses and leads the center, which acts as a hub for public health emergency preparedness across FEMA/CDC Region 6 (covering the states of Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas).

Building on more than two decades of workforce development experience, the center will continue to provide high-quality, asynchronous public health training. The award will also support the continued operation of the South Central Public Health Leadership Institute, which has helped cultivate the next generation of public health leaders with over 70 graduates since 2023.  

The new award will be coordinated by Stephen Murphy, associate professor of environmental health sciences and director of the Center for Applied Environmental Public Health, who will serve as director and principal investigator.

"We are honored by HRSA’s confidence in our work and genuinely excited to continue a more than 25-year legacy of strengthening the public health workforce across the South-Central states,” Murphy said. “This investment will enable Tulane and our partners to strengthen the public health workforce and prepare the next generation of leaders."

Murphy led the previous HRSA-funded training center initiative and will continue guiding the center's efforts to enhance workforce capacity, leadership development, and public health practice throughout the South Central region.

“The SCPHTC has set the standard for public health workforce development across the South-Central region and beyond,” Murphy added. “This renewal reinforces Tulane’s leadership in preparing the public health workforce of the future, building on a record of impact that now includes more than 70,000 active professional learners, over 200 online courses, support for over 175 MPH student practicums since 2020, and the development of emerging leaders through our Public Health Leadership Institute."