About Voices of Public Health
Our biannual newsletter, Voices of Public Health, updates members of our community on our vibrant and growing department of undergraduate and graduate students and interdisciplinary faculty. With each issue, we will bring you research, insights, and accomplishments of UC Merced Public Health and our partners. Our goal is to promote well-being for populations by advancing an equitable society, ensuring safe environmental conditions, and uplifting the voice and power of communities.
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Current Issue
A Message from Our Community
I am honored and excited to introduce myself as the incoming Chair of our department. Stepping into this role represents both a privilege and a responsibility—one I embrace with deep commitment to our shared mission and genuine enthusiasm for the opportunities ahead.
I come to this position with over fifteen years of experience in public health leadership, most recently serving as Chair of our department from 2016-2019 and again from 2020-2021. During that time, I had the privilege of guiding faculty and students through a period of significant programmatic expansion and a global pandemic. That experience taught me the importance of collaborative decision-making, the power of community/university partnerships, and the necessity of maintaining our focus on regional and global impact as we pursue academic excellence.
My approach to leadership is grounded in three core principles: transparency in communication, inclusivity in decision-making, and responsiveness to the needs of our community. I believe that the strongest departments are those where everyone feels welcome and that their contribution matters—from our newest students to our most senior faculty, from our staff to our community partners.
I'm committed to working with our outstanding faculty to strengthen and expand our academic programs to meet evolving public health challenges. This means exploring innovative pedagogical approaches—including an exciting Public Health Internship Program (!), ensuring our curricula reflect current best practices, and creating pathways for student success at every level.
Over the next year, we will work together to identify increased opportunities for student involvement in meaningful research experiences and to continue to support impactful graduate student research. Public health is fundamentally about improving lives and communities. I want to ensure our work—whether teaching, research, or service—has tangible, positive impacts beyond our campus.
I want to express my sincere gratitude to Asa Bradman, outgoing Chair, for his enthusiastic and insightful leadership, and to our faculty and students for the dedication and passion they bring to their work. The challenges facing public health have never been more complex—or more urgent. I’m confident that together, with our collective expertise and shared commitment to making a difference, we will rise to meet them.
- Nancy J. Burke, Professor and Chair, Public Health Department
