APHA honors Dean of CUNY SPH with prestigious award for distinguished service, leadership and innovation

The dean of the CUNY Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy, Dr. Ayman El-Mohandes, has received the American Public Health Association’s prestigious Executive Director’s Citation for “exceptional distinguished service.”

Dean El-Mohandes was cited for his “extraordinary leadership and innovation in strengthening the Association’s membership and development efforts.” He is one of 11 educators, elected officials and health leaders named as 2017 recipients of the APHA’s national awards. The annual awards, which recognize individuals for outstanding contributions in the field, will be presented in November during APHA’s 2017 Annual Meeting and Expo in Atlanta.

Past recipients of the Executive Director’s Citation include Dr. Jonas Salk, City College alumnus and polio vaccine developer, who was honored posthumously in 2014, and Microsoft founder Bill Gates of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, who received the award in 2003.”We congratulate Dr. El-Mohandes, a distinguished scholar and dean of CUNY’s School of Public Health, on this extraordinary recognition of his leadership and commitment to the critical field of public health,” Chancellor James B. Milliken said.”I am deeply honored and humbled by this recognition from APHA,” Dr. El-Mohandes said. “I have always been passionate about serving public health’s professional organization and will continue to do so going forward.”Dr. El-Mohandes, MB BCh, M.D., MPH, MSc, is an internationally recognized leader in the field of public health. A pediatrician, epidemiologist and academician, he is an established researcher in the field of infant mortality reduction in minority-group populations. He has been dean of the CUNY School of Public Health since 2013. He has served on the Executive Board of the American Public Health Association, as Chair of the Association’s Development Committee, and as a member of its Social Responsibility Committee.

The American Public Health Association is a 145-year-old, Washington, D.C.-based professional organization that advocates for public health issues and policies grounded in research; promotes best practices, and “champions the health of all people and all communities.”Georges Benjamin, M.

D., executive director of APHA, said of this year’s award winners, “Their leadership, service and dedication are exemplary. We celebrate their accomplishments in improving health and helping create the healthiest nation.”The City University of New York is the nation’s leading urban public university. Founded in 1847, the University comprises 24 institutions: 11 senior colleges, seven community colleges, the William E. Macaulay Honors College at CUNY, the CUNY Graduate School Center, the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism, the CUNY School of Law, the CUNY School of Professional Studies and the CUNY Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy. The University serves more than 272,000 degree-seeking students. College Now, the University’s academic enrichment program, is offered at CUNY campuses and more than 400 high schools throughout the five boroughs. The University offers online baccalaureate and master’s degrees through the CUNY School of Professional Studies.

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