When it’s most effective, public health can go unnoticed. When we aren’t getting sick or injured, we’re unlikely to credit infectious disease surveillance, food-safety regulations, occupational safety measures, or vaccination programs. When our air and water are clean and the conditions in our communities are conducive to a healthy lifestyle, we don’t necessarily connect the dots to the public health research, advocacy, and policies that made it possible.

AS I PREPARE MY FINAL DEAN'S MESSAGE for our magazine and reflect on our school's incredible accomplishments over the nearly eight years I've served as dean, I am filled with gratitude and pride about all we have accomplished together. Through both research and partnerships with communities and policymakers, we have helped to improve lives, all while utilizing our degree programs to educate future public health leaders — individuals who have, and will go on to join, the legions of FSPH alums making a difference locally, nationally, and around the world.

Dr. Patience Afulani is an Associate Professor in the Obstetrics, Gynecology, & Reproductive Sciences and Epidemiology & Biostatistics departments at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). Her primary research centers on the social and health system factors underlying inequities in reproductive, maternal, neonatal, and child health, with a special interest in person-centered care.