About

Our Vision

Our vision is just and equitable communities where everyone has access to the resources they need to be healthy and thrive.

Our Mission

The mission of the Joseph J. Zilber College of Public Health is to advance health and well-being in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and beyond through multidisciplinary education, transformative research, and action-oriented partnerships and practice reflecting the principles of social justice and health equity.

With an unwavering commitment to health equity and social justice, the Joseph J. Zilber College of Public Health is a leader in student-centered education, interdisciplinary research, and bi-directional community engagement. Representing diverse disciplines, we continuously aspire to be change agents and trustworthy partners fostering a collaborative environment that equips graduates to make positive impacts on health and society for generations to come. As Wisconsin’s only nationally accredited school of public health, we leverage our collective resources and expertise to advance health and well-being for all.

Our Values Statement

We, the faculty, administration, staff, and Students of the Joseph J. Zilber College of Public Health, accept and adopt the core values of the University of Wisconsin — Milwaukee.

We are also committed to carrying out the following values in our individual and collective public health research, teaching, community engagement, and practice:

• Integrity — We cultivate and sustain trust through transparent, open, and honest communications and decision-making. We uphold standards of public health ethics* in all that we do.
• Accountability — We hold ourselves and each other responsible to the highest quality, excellence, and measurable impact in our work.
• Collaboration — We emphasize and support collaborative, interdependent, mutually-respectful engagement and relationships within our college, across our campus, and with our communities.
• Diversity and Inclusion — We welcome, support, include, encourage, and respect diverse voices, experiences, perspectives, disciplines, and approaches in our work together.
• Health Equity — We strive to eliminate health inequities through research, teaching,  community engagement, and advocacy.
• Social and Environmental Justice — We maintain an unwavering commitment to social and environmental justice, focusing our work on the fundamental, underlying requirements for healthy communities by addressing individual, structural, and institutional barriers to health.

*For example:  Thomas JC, Sage M, Dillenberg J, Guillory VJ. A code of ethics for public health. Am J Public Health. 2002;92(7):1057—1059 OR the Public Health Leadership Society’s Public Health Code of Ethics.

Our Goals

Five Year Goals

• GOAL 1: To elevate the reputation of the college for outstanding teaching, research, community engagement, and practice that promotes health, health equity, and wellness. 
• GOAL 2: To create and apply knowledge to advance health, health equity, and wellness. 
• GOAL 3: To deliver high quality student-centered programs that equip students to contribute to an effective health and wellness workforce or pursue further education. 
• GOAL 4: To develop and maintain an efficient administrative infrastructure with transparent processes to support the success of the college in teaching, research, community engagement, and practice. 
• GOAL 5: To achieve financial stability and sustainability for the college. 
• GOAL 6: To cultivate a community environment within the college where all our members feel a sense of belonging.