Prairie View A&M University to establish new school in public health in the fall
HOUSTON - With the semester coming to an end, Prairie View A&M University announced a new school coming to the Historically Black College/University (HBCU).
In a release from the university, they announced the establishment of the School of Public and Allied Health coming this fall after approval from The Texas A&M University System and the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.
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The school will house the programs in the current Department of Health and Kinesiology along with the new degrees in Public Health.
Last spring, PVAMU became the first HBCU in Texas to launch two degrees in public health.
MARCH 15, 2022: Main entrance of Prairie View A&M University (Photo by Nicholas Hunt/Office of Marketing and Communications/Prairie View A&M University via Getty Images)
"Degree programs in the Department of Health and Kinesiology have grown over the last several years to support approximately 900 majors in Kinesiology (BS), Health (BS, MED/MS), and Physical Education (MED/MS)," Provost & Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs James M. Palmer said in a memorandum to the campus community today. "This is the fastest growing department and set of majors on campus. Behavioral Aspects of Health and Public Health constitute the fastest growing bachelor’s fields across the nation."
The immediate past president, Ruth J Simmons sought approval from the Brown Foundation, Inc. to use the $1 million they donated to help build the new school.
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The school will be led by an executive director and the University has decided on Dr. Angela Branch-Vital, current Department Head of Health and Kinesiology, to take on the role.
"I am quite pleased to report that the current Department Head of Health and Kinesiology, Dr. Angela Branch-Vital, has agreed to assume this role," said Palmer in the release. "Dr. Branch-Vital has ably led her current department through unprecedented growth and worked with Dean of Undergraduate Studies Dr. Alphonso Keaton to establish the Public Health degree."