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On Tuesday, October 25, CUNY SPH had the pleasure of welcoming cosmetic dentist, philanthropist and CUNY SPH donor Dr. Michael Apa to our campus. Dr. Apa and members of his team met with the 10 Apa Scholars, as well as Dean Ayman El-Mohandes and various members of the CUNY SPH faculty and staff. The group engaged in a dynamic conversation regarding the value of the program and the strong connection between oral population health and overall health.
“Thanks to Dr. Apa’s generosity, we have been able to gather a remarkable cohort of Apa scholars, the next generation of public health leaders, who are dedicated to eliminating the inequities that skew treatment of oral population health patients,” said Dean El-Mohandes. “They are gaining a deeper understanding of the social issues and barriers – from race to income – that have limited the kind of care that individuals receive.”
The Dr. Michael Apa Scholarship Fund in Oral Population Health, CUNY SPH’s first named scholarship, launched in fall 2021. Thanks to Dr. Apa’s tremendous support, each Apa Scholar received a full scholarship to study oral population health within one of the school’s four departments to earn an MPH degree.
“Having the chance to visit campus and meet the scholars provided me with an amazing opportunity to see the program and my vision come to life,” said Dr. Apa. “I was so impressed by the commitment of the scholars, many of whom already have dental degrees, who are working full-time and now choosing to make this commitment to further their education and in turn improve the quality of care and the infrastructure of our city’s oral healthcare system.”
