Department of Health Science Celebrates 60th Anniversary
The College of Health and Human Services (CHHS) at CSULB recently celebrated the 60th Anniversary of its Department of Health Science, highlighting the department’s history, student achievements and future plans.
Interim Dean for CHHS, Dr. Grace Reynolds-Fisher, said the department was founded to improve the health and well-being of individuals, families and communities, through education, research and service.
“What began as a small academic unit has evolved into a vibrant, interdisciplinary community that crosses professions, sectors and orders in pursuit of healthier futures for all,” Reynolds-Fisher said.
At a department celebratory event April 17 at the Old Ranch Country Club, the dean talked about popular public health heroes, much to the delight of current Health Science students in attendance – who would’ve heard about these figures in their classes.
“Public Health is grounded in medicine, and early on it was heavily influenced by public sanitation and engineering. When John Snow, who was a physician, and is often recognized as the first epidemiologist, discovered and shut down a contaminated water pump that was facilitating the spread of Cholera in London, he used mapping and other surveillance tools that are standards of public health today. Walter Reed was an Army physician in the American West, and in 1901, he led a team that confirmed the theory that Yellow fever is transmitted by a particular mosquito species, rather than by direct contact between humans. Again, a new approach to epidemiology was created and now we have that part of epidemiology that looks for vectors of disease transmission.”
As she looks toward the next 60 years, Reynolds-Fisher said it is important to view them through a lens of complexity and possibility in health sciences and public health.
“The challenges are real, but so is the talent, creativity and the sense of responsibility represented in the department,” Reynolds-Fisher said.
The evening prior, the department held a celebratory event on the CSULB campus in which undergraduate and graduate students presented their long-term projects on the health crisis children in Long Beach face, and on countries, including Tajikistan, that are susceptible to disease.
Fourth-year nutrition and food science major Katelyn Chu felt proud of her year-long research poster, “Residential Area and its Association to Fruit and Vegetable Intake Among Children in Long Beach,” and the Center for Latino Community Health’s collaboration to create diverse community health initiatives.
“I think it’s very admirable being able to be part of this project, but also seeing my coworkers and colleagues be a part of this amazing project,” Chu said.
At the Old Ranch Country Club luncheon, Dr. Britt Rios-Ellis, the Center for Latino Community Health’s (CLCH) founding Director – now President of CSU Stanislaus – thanked the CSULB faculty in the Department of Health Science who have played a vital role in the success of the department and CLCH, which recently celebrated its 20th Anniversary.
“Back when the Center first started, we were doing some really cutting-edge work in Latino Health, which no one was looking into at the time.”
Also in attendance at the anniversary celebration was Long Beach Health and Human Services Director Alison King, who said, “Public Health touches every neighborhood and today is about how we can continue to build on our partnership.”
Added King, “Public health shows up visibly when we respond quickly to protect the community, but most of the work happens behind the scenes through prevention, education and access to care. When those pieces come together, we are not just responding, we are preventing and improving long-term outcomes. CSULB has been an important pathway for building future public health workforce in Long Beach and we are so very grateful for all that the university and department have provided to us as staff.”
“This is a significant milestone not just for the department, but for the university, said Dr. Pei-Fang Hung, Vice Provost for Academic Programs at CSULB. “For 60 years, the Department of Health Science has shaped the public health workforce in meaningful ways. Many of our graduates are already doing critical work and are making a tremendous impact. This year we are proud to announce our very first cohort of Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) students, some of them currently in this room.
Dr. Kamiar Alaei, the longstanding Chair of the Department of Health Science, spoke about his time in the department seeing the introduction of interdisciplinary partnerships, joint health-technology degree pathways, and starting the DrPH Program. The program, which began in fall 2025, provides community health education and public health training in urban areas.
“I called all 23 [CSU’s], and some asked why they should care about it [the DrPH program], and I told them, what they care about today, they can benefit in the next 5 years,” Alaei said.
One student in the program is Damian Zavala, who also serves as executive director of Student Health Services.
“Of course, with any new program, you have some growing pains, but the faculty and staff have been very supportive,” Zavala said. “I look forward to the next classes and the learning, even though it’s a lot on my plate, but it’s well worth it.”
Alaei said he hopes to expand the program and encourages student participation beyond those in public health.
“We can do more non-traditional approaches, and adjust public health educators to be involved in policy, advocacy, implementation, evaluation and adaption,” Alaei said.
Portions of this article originally appeared in the Long Beach Current
