SAN ANTONIO — The University of Texas School of Public Health San Antonio has named Dr. Vasan Ramachandran its founding dean.
Ramachandran, a distinguished researcher at Boston University, will assume the role on Sept. 1.
He told KENS 5 the school could be "transformative" by helping guide community leaders to tackle problems that affect swaths of the community.
Ramachandran set optimistic goals he believes his school could help achieve.
"Walk into the city 15 years from now," he said. "You breathe clean air. The traffic is regulated. People are walking. There are bicycling paths. Accidents are down. People are exercising. Obesity is down. Heart disease is under control."
"That utopia... one of the paths to that lies through public health," he continued. "The School of Public Health is the citadel on the hill that teaches and also does research which matters."
Ramachandran said he aims to ensure San Antonio residents have the opportunity to be healthy, no matter where they live. Researchers will focus efforts on minimizing health disparities between demographics of the population.
The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio and the University of Texas at San Antonio will collaborate to operate the new school.
“We seek to improve public health in close partnership with the city of San Antonio, Bexar County, our research and development partners, and the health care community," UTSA President Taylor Eighmy said. "This new school allows us to meet critical public health workforce needs and is a major boost to both institutions’ positive momentum and commitment to being a center of excellence in public health education, service and research."
The public is invited to tour The University of Texas School of Public Health San Antonio website.
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