Greg Lee, Ph.D. Director Oregon MPH Program

Academic Year 2010-2011

Welcome to the Oregon Master of Public Health (OMPH) Program,

Years ago, as US Surgeon General, C. Everett Koop, MD, said, “Healthcare is vital to all of us some of the time, but public health is vital to all of us all of the time.” 

As the only MPH program serving Oregon and SW Washington, one need not look far to see our MPH graduates engaged in a wide variety of public health organizations.  Here are a few of the essential public health activities Oregon MPH alumni are involved in:

• Diagnosing and investigating health problems and hazards.
• Informing, educating, or empowering people about health issues.
• Mobilizing community partnerships to identify and solve health problems.
• Developing policies and plans that support individual and community health efforts.
• Evaluating effectiveness, accessibility, and quality of personal and populations outcomes of health services.
• Researching solutions to health problems and innovations for prevention.

The Oregon MPH is a unique graduate program that brings together the resources and talent from three universities: Oregon State University (OSU), Oregon Health & Sciences University (OHSU), and Portland State University (PSU).  We are proud of our diverse faculty, rich in backgrounds and disciplines, and are engaged in research on local communities as well as on many international projects.

As a graduate program we offer six tracks or specialty areas.  The tracks include International Health; Health Promotion; Health management and Policy; Primary Health Care and Health Disparities; Environment, Safety and Health; and Epidemiology & Biostatistics.

The upsurge in public health education and careers is based on the recognition that local, national, and global issues of health are complex and that solutions will require expertise in the life sciences, information technology, systems thinking, partnerships among organizations, political boundaries, and professional disciplines. It is also well recognized that the status quo in US health care delivery is not sustainable, nor as good as many other developed countries.  The opportunities are unlimited for MPH graduates to bring their skills/conceptual frameworks as partners in transforming US healthcare. 

On behalf of our staff and faculty I encourage you to bring your energy and passion to the field of public health.  I invite you to explore our website and learn more about our program and commitment to training the next generation of public health leaders.