Dr. Cecilia Rosales

Cecilia Rosales, MD, MS, a veteran of border health issues, has been named director of the new Phoenix program of the University of Arizona's Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, the state's only nationally accredited college of public health.

Having worked in the public health field for 20 years, Dr. Rosales has significantly addressed the health and quality of life among border populations in both the southwestern United States and in Mexico.

In tackling health issues on both sides of the border, she has worked to track infectious disease; assess, control and prevent diabetes; study the challenges to farm worker health; and coordinate the treatment of patients with tuberculosis who migrate between the two countries. In addition, Rosales is co-principal investigator in researching ways to counter chronic diseases in the region.

“"We are preparing the next generation of public health professionals to contribute to the mission of local and state health departments, among other organizations, in addition to informing and educating our policymakers on salient public health issues. Half the population of Arizona lives in Maricopa County. Expanding the reach of a nationally accredited public health program to Phoenix makes us much more accessible to potential students living and working in the surrounding area as well as the more remote areas of the state," said Rosales.

The Maricopa County Health Department is the third largest local health department in the United States.

"Our proximity to the local and state health department is a great asset for our students in terms of internship and job opportunities," said Dr. Rosales.

Rosales, the former chief of the Arizona Department of Health Services Office of Border Health, joined the college in 2005 and is an associate professor in the community, environment and policy division.

She is co-leader of the newly funded Arizona Collaborative Public Health Training Center, to address the workforce training needs with health and education partners throughout the state. The center will provide free or subsidized training to public health workers in state, county and tribal health departments, in addition to community-based organizations addressing health concerns.

The Zuckerman College of Public Health is the only nationally accredited college of public health in the state of Arizona. Working closely with statewide organizations, the curriculum for the master of public health program in public health practice supports the major public health organizations in Arizona, including the Arizona Department of Health Services, Maricopa Health Department, providers of public health and health care services in the greater Phoenix metropolitan area and nearby county and tribal health programs.

"We had a huge need for this for a long time," said Dr. Bob England, director of Maricopa County Department of Public Health. "This is the largest community in the U.S. that has both a major local health department and the State health department in the same city. Finally adding academic education in public health to the mix will assist all of us in providing even better leadership for our community."

"We are grateful to the University of Arizona and Dr. Rosales for all the collaboration that we know lies ahead," said Dr. England.

With campuses in Tucson and Phoenix, the College of Public Health offers an academic curriculum that includes undergraduate, masters, and doctoral degrees and it consistently ranks among the top five in American Indian and Hispanic graduates and students among the 44 nationally accredited schools of public health.