The Colorado School of Public Health, a three-university partnership that includes CSU, has a new dean.

Dr. Jonathan Samet, MD, MS, was named the new dean of the ColoradoSPH this week following an extensive national search.

Samet, an accomplished medical professional and administrator, has occupied top positions in leading universities around the country.

He is currently distinguished professor and chair of the Department of Preventive Medicine at the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California. He also directs both the USC Institute for Global Health and the Workforce Development and KL2 Program of the Southern California Clinical and Translational Science Institute.

Enhancing impact

“I am honored by being selected as the third dean of the Colorado School of Public Health,” Samet said.  “A key goal will be to enhance the school’s impact on public health in the state and region through our research and training activities.”

Previously, he chaired the department of epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and was clinical division chief for Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at the University of New Mexico.

University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus Chancellor Don Elliman, who announced the hiring, said the new dean will strengthen and deepen the impact of the Colorado School of Public Health.

“Since its establishment just nine years ago, the ColoradoSPH – a partnership of CU Anschutz, Colorado State University and the University of Northern Colorado – has made remarkable strides toward becoming one of the country’s premier institutions of public health,” Elliman said. “As its third dean, Dr. Samet, who brings the experience of a long and distinguished career in academic medicine and public health, is uniquely qualified to take the ColoradoSPH to new heights.”

About Samet

Samet comes to ColoradoSPH with nearly 40 years of experience in education, health care and research.

Throughout his career, he’s fostered and mentored faculty members, created new lines of research, initiated curricular advances and maintained fiscal stability.

Along with teaching everyone from undergraduate to postdoctoral students, Samet has conducted a wide array of research into health issues. In many cases, he’s translated that research into action. His work led to advancing tobacco controls nationally and around the world, tightening air-quality regulations and winning compensation for underground uranium miners suffering health problems.

The new dean is past-president of the American College of Epidemiology and the Society of Epidemiologic Research. He was elected to the National Academy of Medicine, one of the highest honors in medicine, and holds a bachelor’s degree from Harvard College, an MD from the University of Rochester and a master’s degree from the Harvard School of Public Health.

“We are fortunate to have someone as accomplished and versatile as Dr. Samet taking the helm of the Colorado School of Public Health at this critical juncture in its growth,” Elliman said. “I am grateful to Dr. Elaine Morrato who, as interim dean since December, has helped the school continue to build on its momentum while ensuring we are set up for a smooth handoff to new leadership.”

Morrato will continue as interim dean until Samet assumes his new post in October.