Background

In 2002, the deans of the University of Minnesota Medical School and the School of Public Health established a “Center for Global Health” (CGH). Following a retreat at the Wilder Center in August of that year, where over 60 faculty members convened to discuss the nature of the Center, the School of Nursing was added as a founding partner, and an advisory board was formed with representatives of these schools, as well as other colleges in the Academic Health Center (AHC). After a series of meetings, the mission of the CGH was articulated: “to unite faculty, students, staff and community leaders in a shared mission of education, research, service and policy development for the treatment and prevention of disease worldwide.” Also, India was identified as an international platform for the AHC's CGH.

Several recent developments led the current deans of the School of Public Health, Medical School, and School of Nursing to expedite the Center's development:

• Extraordinary globalization of the curricula of all three schools
• Major AHC initiatives in India
• Minnesota's leadership in immigrant/refugee healthcare
• Establishment of global health centers or programs at other universities in the past five years funded by the philanthropic community.

In 2007, the potential was recognized for robust partnerships with other schools at the University which share an interest in issues that underlie global health inequities, e.g. the Law School, College of Liberal Arts, and the Humphrey Center. It was agreed that such partnerships would be reflected by a new name: Center for Global Health and Social Responsibility.

View a map of AHC Global Partners:

 

 

Contact

Shannon Benson
Coordinator

Ph: 612-625-7933
benson@umn.edu