CUNY Plans to Open Public Health School

NEW YORK – The City University of New York plans to open a graduate school of public health, one of fewer than 40 in the nation, the university’s chancellor said.

The new program, one of several the school has added in recent years, would address a growing need, Matthew Goldstein said as he made the announcement Tuesday.

“Demographers are predicting that by 2030, more than three quarters of the world’s population will be living in urban areas,” he said. “Urban health problems, like diabetes and obesity, are on the rise. As the largest urban public university in America, we hope to be able to work against these scourges.”

Goldstein said he hoped to open the school in two to three years.

The school would be the fourth such institution in New York, joining programs at Columbia University, New York Medical College and the State University of New York’s University. There are currently 37 accredited schools of public health in the U.S.