Mailman School to Take Leading Role at Columbia's Global Center in Paris

March 12, 2010

Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health will become an elemental part of Columbia’s newest global center, the Columbia Global Centers | Europe in Paris.   Recognizing the centrality of public health to any global programming, Columbia President Lee C. Bollinger has designated the Mailman School to take the lead on research and academic programming for its newest global presence. 

Mailman School Dean Linda P. Fried, MD, MPH, is traveling with President Bollinger and other University officials to Paris for the center’s launch, Tuesday, March 16, in Columbia’s Reid Hall (4, rue de Chevreuse 75006, Paris).

The program brings together other members of the Columbia University community, as well as a group of distinguished alumni, friends, scholars, public officials, individuals from private enterprise, and innovators from various sectors. Particular application to the public health challenges and issues confronting populations around the world will be central to the discussions at the March 16th program. 

The Mailman School is developing a relationship with the French School of Public Health, EHESP (L’Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Santé Publique) to facilitate exchange between faculties and students and promote collaboration and synergies in public health education, research, and practice.

Going forward, the schools will work to establish collaborative programming in research and education which will enlarge in scope with the addition of the new Global Center. The latest addition to the network will further leverage the Mailman School’s strength in fostering leadership and excellence in the public health field.

Program of Events

A notable feature of the March 16 program is a session called Coming of Age: Demographics, Disease, and New Directions in Global Public Health, will be moderated by Dean Fried and will explore how interlinked disciplines and research can address global challenges, such as aging, urbanization, social determinants of health, and prevention of chronic disease. 

The panel will demonstrate examples of how nations and disciplines can learn from and foster each other’s visions in a changing world. Invited panelists include:

  • Princess Zahra Aga Khan, Head of the Social Welfare Department of the Aga Khan Development Network;
  • Axel Börsch-Supan, Professor of Macroeconomics and Public Policy and Executive Director of the Mannheim Research Institute for the Economics of Aging (MEA), University of Mannheim, Germany;
  • Antoine Flahault, President of the Association of the Schools of Public Health in the European Region (ASPHER), and Dean of the French School of Public Health (EHESP);
  • Maksut Kulzhanov, Rector of Kazakhstan School of Public Health; and
  • Cornel Sieber, Professor of Medicine, Chair of Internal Medicine-Geriatrics and Director of the Institute for Biomedicine of Aging, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nurnberg, Germany. 

That session will follow, What is a Global University?, featuring a discussion on the role of universities with heads of academic and research institutions in the European region, moderated by President Bollinger.  Panelists include:

  • Ulrike Albrecht, Director, Strategic Planning, Alexander von Humboldt Foundation;
  • Monique Canto-Sperber, Director, École Normale Supérieure;
  • Ghassan Salamé, Joint Professor of International Relations, Columbia University and Sciences Po; and
  • Eric Thomas, Vice Chancellor, University of Bristol.

The day will culminate with a special reception in honor of Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, hosted by U.S. Ambassador Charles Rivkin at his residence.