focuses on the science and art of protecting and promoting the health of populations. Where doctors deal with the health of individuals, public health agencies—governments, NGOs, researchers, activists—deal with the health of communities, regions, and nations.
Concentration Overview
Any student interested in moderating into GPH should contact Coordinator Helen Epstein to discuss their plans.
Curriculum
Public health specialists work on diverse problems such as access to medical care, disease prevention, and the social, political, and economic determinants of health. The field is particularly concerned with preventing health problems before they arise and overcoming disparities in health, with special consideration for disadvantaged groups. Practitioners of public health can choose to focus on research, education, intervention, policy making, or some combination of these areas.
Moderation Requirements
GPH students are required to take a total of six courses, three at the 300-level or above. To moderate into the concentration, students must have taken two courses that fulfill GPH requirements. Normally, moderation into GPH happens alongside the student’s moderation into their primary program. In addition to the course requirements, students must write a one-page plan of study that describes their interest in GPH and details plans for future coursework, study abroad and/or away, and the Senior Project.
Coursework
All GPH students are required to take: (1) Human Rights 223, Epidemics and Society; (2) at least one health-related course; (3) at least one biology course; (4) at least one international relations and development course and (5) at least one statistics course. In addition, students must take at least one elective, chosen in consultation with a GPH faculty member, that provides greater depth in one of the areas above and will, ideally, inform the Senior Project.
Coursework
All GPH students are required to take: (1) Human Rights 223, Epidemics and Society; (2) at least one health-related course; (3) at least one biology course; (4) at least one international relations and development course and (5) at least one statistics course. In addition, students must take at least one elective, chosen in consultation with a GPH faculty member, that provides greater depth in one of the areas above and will, ideally, inform the Senior Project.
Choose from the following courses for the statistics requirement:
Associate Professor of Biology Brooke Jude to Lead Regenerative Dye Research as Part of Daughters for Earth Grant
As part of one of 26 women-led projects in 17 countries, Associate Professor of Biology Brooke Jude will participate in a project to regenerate natural fabric dyeing processes with traditional Moroccan weavers as part of a Daughters for Earth grant awarded to Around the World in 80 Fabrics. Professor Jude will lead microbial dye foraging alongside our natural plant dye research as part of a team that “will bring together traditional weavers, researchers, designers, textile experts, scientists, anthropologists, and businesswomen to create sustainable dyeing processes that Ain Leuh Women's Cooperative can use.”
Associate Professor of Biology Brooke Jude to Lead Regenerative Dye Research as Part of Daughters for Earth Grant
As part of one of 26 women-led projects in 17 countries, Associate Professor of Biology Brooke Jude will participate in a project to regenerate natural fabric dyeing processes with traditional Moroccan weavers as part of a Daughters for Earth grant awarded to Around the World in 80 Fabrics. “These grants, totaling over $600,000, are a part of our mission to deliver critical resources into the hands of the women on the frontlines of climate action,” says Daughters for Earth of this year’s grant winners. Professor Jude will lead microbial dye foraging alongside our natural plant dye research as part of a team that “will bring together traditional weavers, researchers, designers, textile experts, scientists, anthropologists, and businesswomen to create sustainable dyeing processes that Ain Leuh Women's Cooperative can use.” The cooperative, which was founded by local women in the Atlas Mountain region of Morocco, has used traditional weaving techniques to support their families for decades. Today, because of the pressures of demand from global trade, synthetic dyes are used more frequently, produced with chemicals that impact weaver health and the environment. The collaboration between the Ain Leuh Cooperative, Artisan Project, Around the World in 80 Fabrics, the Microbe Institute, and Bard College will help to create “an open-source natural dye, plant, and microbial resource book with a map and dye recipes,” with the goal of improving the health of Ain Leuh weavers and the health of the local ecosystem.
Dr. Felicia Keesing, Bard College’s David and Rosalie Rose Distinguished Professor of Science, Mathematics, and Computing, has been selected as the winner of the 2022 International Cosmos Prize by the Expo ’90 Foundation. Dr. Keesing will receive a certificate of merit, a medallion, and a monetary prize of 40 million yen (approximately $290,000 USD) at the award ceremony, which will be held in Osaka, Japan, on November 9. Dr. Keesing will also give a commemorative lecture, participate in a symposium held in her honor, and have an audience with the Emperor and Empress of Japan.
Bard College Faculty Member Felicia Keesing Wins the 2022 International Cosmos Prize
Dr. Felicia Keesing, Bard College’s David and Rosalie Rose Distinguished Professor of Science, Mathematics, and Computing, has been selected as the winner of the 2022 International Cosmos Prize by the Expo ’90 Foundation. Dr. Keesing will receive a certificate of merit, a medallion, and a monetary prize of 40 million yen (approximately $290,000 USD) at the award ceremony, which will be held in Osaka, Japan, on November 9. Dr. Keesing will also give a commemorative lecture, participate in a symposium held in her honor, and have an audience with the Emperor and Empress of Japan.
The International Cosmos Prize Committee states: “Dr. Felicia Keesing clarified the relationship between biodiversity and the risk of zoonotic pathogen transmission by conducting practical research and studies. She has demonstrated that while ecosystems with high biodiversity can be a breeding ground of various pathogens, the overall infection risk can be reduced in these ecosystems due to the presence of a dilution effect, thereby proving that biodiversity is of critical value to human society. These research achievements are instrumental in exploring the interrelationships among all life forms and provide sensible suggestions for seeking the ideal state of ‘Harmonious Coexistence between Nature and Humankind’ in the post-COVID-19 era.” Read the Committee’s Reasons for Awarding the Prize to Dr. Keesing here.
“I am honored to receive the International Cosmos Prize for 2022. The purpose of this prize and the activities of the Expo ’90 Foundation focus on the harmonious coexistence of humanity and the natural world. I can imagine no more important topic,” said Dr. Keesing. “Working closely with undergraduate students has been an ongoing source of inspiration. Perhaps most importantly, as I watch my students, and my children, grapple with the realities of the world they are inheriting, I am acutely aware of the stakes of the choices we are making.” Read Dr. Keesing’s full comments on winning the award here.
The annual Cosmos Prize is awarded in recognition of a body of work that has significantly advanced our understanding of the relationships among living organisms and the interdependence of life and the global environment. The decision to award the prize to Dr. Keesing was reached after the committee evaluated 174 nominations from 28 countries.
Previous recipients include Jared Diamond (1998), David Attenborough (2000), E.O. Wilson (2012), and Jane Goodall (2017).
Felicia Keesing, Bard College’s David and Rosalie Rose Distinguished Professor of Science, Mathematics, and Computing, has been elected as a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Keesing, who teaches in the Biology Program, is the first Bard faculty member to be honored with this distinction.
Bard College Faculty Member Felicia Keesing Elected as 2021 American Association for the Advancement of Science Fellow
Felicia Keesing, Bard College’s David and Rosalie Rose Distinguished Professor of Science, Mathematics, and Computing, has been elected as a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Keesing, who teaches in the Biology Program, is the first Bard faculty member to be honored with this distinction.
“Felicia Keesing exemplifies the critical importance of science both at the frontiers of knowledge and in our everyday lives. Generously sharing her expertise with our community, she is an outstanding researcher and gifted educator. All Bard students are beneficiaries of Professor Keesing’s commitment to curricular innovation in the teaching of science, and her leadership at the College over the past two decades cannot be overstated,” said Dean of the College and Professor of English Deirdre d’Albertis.
Felicia Keesing, David and Rosalie Rose Distinguished Professor of Science, Mathematics, and Computing, has been on the Bard faculty since 2000. She has a B.S. from Stanford University and a Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley. Since 1995, she has studied how African savannas function when the large, charismatic animals like elephants, buffaloes, zebras, and giraffes disappear. She also studies how interactions among species influence the probability that humans will be exposed to infectious diseases. Keesing studies Lyme disease, and other tick-borne diseases. She is particularly interested in how the loss of biodiversity affect disease transmission. More recently, she has focused on science literacy for college students, and she led the re-design of Bard College’s Citizen Science program. Keesing has received research grants from the National Science Foundation, the National Geographic Society, the National Institutes of Health, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, among others. In 2000, she was awarded the United States Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers in a ceremony at the White House, and in 2019, she was elected a Fellow of the Ecological Society of America. She is the coeditor of Infectious Disease Ecology: Effects of Ecosystems on Disease and of Disease on Ecosystems (2008) and has contributed to such publications as Nature, Science, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Ecology Letters, Emerging Infectious Diseases, Proceedings of the Royal Society, Ecology, BioScience, Conservation Biology, and Trends in Ecology & Evolution, among others.
The 2021 class of AAAS Fellows includes 564 scientists, engineers, and innovators from around the world spanning scientific disciplines. AAAS Fellows are a distinguished cadre of scientists, engineers and innovators who have been recognized for their achievements across disciplines, from research, teaching, and technology, to administration in academia, industry and government, to excellence in communicating and interpreting science to the public. The full list of 2021 AAAS Fellows can be found here.
“AAAS is proud to honor these individuals who represent the kind of forward thinking the scientific enterprise needs, while also inspiring hope for what can be achieved in the future,” said Dr. Sudip S. Parikh, AAAS chief executive officer and executive publisher of the Science family of journals.
These honorees have gone above and beyond in their respective disciplines. They bring a broad diversity of perspectives, innovation, curiosity, and passion that will help sustain the scientific field today and into the future. The new Fellows will receive an official certificate and a gold and blue rosette pin to commemorate their election (representing science and engineering, respectively) and will be celebrated later this year during an in-person gathering when it is feasible from a public health and safety perspective. The new class will also be featured in the AAAS News & Notes section of Science in January 2022.