February 03, 2009

Dr. Rohit Ramaswamy

Dr. Rohit Ramaswamy

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Gillings School of Global Public Health has awarded a Gillings Visiting Clinical Associate Professorship to Rohit Ramaswamy, PhD, MPH, to develop a pilot distance-based global health learning program for public health professionals around the world. <p”>

Ramaswamy, an adjunct in the School’s Public Health Leadership Program, is president of Service Design Solutions, a consulting firm in Des Moines, Iowa, that partners with nonprofit and other organizations to improve service quality, manage data, and institute organizational change. He holds a master’s degree from the Gillings School of Global Public Health and doctorate from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

His award will be used to devise a curriculum and pilot-test an online training program in global health issues for managerial-level public health professionals.

Global health issues have become more complex, Ramaswamy says, and technical solutions have become increasingly interconnected with social and cultural issues. As a result, he says, successful skills-building programs must take into account local needs and customs.

“Public health solutions are not ‘one size fits all, ‘” he says. “How we approach a problem may be similar around the world – we analyze, consider the complex interweaving of economic, social and biological factors – but thinking through what makes a solution work is a local decision.”

Ramaswamy wants to develop a curriculum that will draw on knowledge present in the field and the expertise of teaching faculty based at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health. He anticipates that this program will serve as a logical entry point to distance learning masters and doctoral programs in public health offered by UNC.
 “The local organizations will help us understand the skills needed by their public health workers,” he says, “and then we will match their needs with the skills of our faculty. One of the most valuable aspects will be the interchange of information in the program, in that everyone will benefit from the rich experiences and wisdom of our practitioner-students and our faculty.”With academic degrees in mechanical engineering, transportation planning, civil engineering, econometrics and statistics, and public health, Ramaswamy admits he approaches learning in a nontraditional way. “I look forward to using my varied skills to design an innovative and unique program which does not currently exist,” he says. 

He applauds the Gillings Visiting Professorship program for “extending the School’s global reach, expanding the intellectual climate by bringing in new ideas, and bridging the gap between research and practice.” 

He says he is privileged to work with the School’s faculty members. “Having been associated with UNC for the last four years, I’m very impressed by the faculty’s expertise, their passion, their willingness to share with their students, and to push the boundaries of global health knowledge forward. I am excited about a continuing relationship with these great public health minds,” he says.

“Dr. Ramaswamy has had extensive international experience and has worked with NGOs and corporations throughout the world,” said William A. Sollecito, DrPH, clinical professor and director of the Public Health Leadership Program at the Gillings School of Global Public Health. “His energy and experience will add to the global strength that we already possess in the school, and combined with his entrepreneurial approach, will quickly lead to new and innovative educational programs which focus on the specific needs of local communities of learners in different regions of the world. The Public Health Leadership Program is delighted to be able to add Dr. Ramaswamy to the ranks of our faculty as we broaden our role in global health. Based on his track record, the impact of his presence is assured.” 

The Gillings Visiting Professorship is awarded through Carolina Public Health Solutions, established within the school to manage programs funded by a $50 million gift from Dennis and Joan Gillings. 

 

More information about Carolina Public Health Solutions and the Gillings Visiting Professorship is available at www.sph.unc.edu/accelerate.

UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health contact: Ramona DuBose, director of communications, (919) 966-7467 or ramona_dubose@unc.edu.

 

 

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