School of Public Health will host its annual awards celebration, which acknowledges the successes of faculty, staff, students and community members during the academic year. Award categories and descriptions are available for online review.
This year's guest speaker is Jonathan Fielding, a renowned public health
practitioner who will be receiving an honorary degree from Drexel.
Bio: Jonathan E. Fielding, M.D., has contributed to the fields of public health and prevention for 45 years. For 16 years, he served as the director of
one of the nation’s largest health departments, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, where he was responsible for all public health functions for the county’s 9.8 million residents.
He retired last year from county government service to return as distinguished professor of health policy and management in the University of California, Los Angeles, School of Public Health, of which he and his wife, Karin, have been major benefactors. He is also a distinguished professor of
pediatrics at that university.
Dr. Fielding is a founding member of national task forces that assess the evidence for and make recommendations on the effectiveness of preventive services and policies. He is the long-serving
editor of the Annual Review of Public
Health and immediate past board chair of the American Legacy Foundation.
He formerly served as Chairman of the
Board of The California Wellness Foundation, a large philanthropy dedicated to disease prevention and health promotion. He is past President of the American College of Preventive Medicine, Chairman of the Federal Expert Advisory Panel on National Health Objectives for 2020, and a member of the National Commission on Prevention Priorities.
Dr. Fielding has received numerous public health awards including the Porter Prize, given for his national impact on improving the lives of Americans; The Milton and Ruth Roemer Prize for achievements in local public health, the Sedgwick Medal for
contributions to the field of Public Health, the Fries Prize for pioneering work in identifying and applying effective worksite and public prevention programs, and the UCLA Medal, the highest honor bestowed by that university.
He previously served as commissioner of public health for Massachusetts and as a vice president of Johnson & Johnson for seven years. He is an
elected member of the National Academy of Medicine, National Academy of Sciences.
Dr. Fielding has authored more than 300 original articles, commentaries and editorials on topics broadly related to prevention and public health practice.
He received a B.A. magna cum laude from
Williams College and an M.D., M.A. (History of Science) and M.P.H. from Harvard University, as well as an M.B.A. (Finance) from the Wharton School of Business Administration.
In recognition of his many contributions to improve the health of Californians and all Americans, on Saturday, June 13, Drexel University will proudly present to Jonathan Fielding the degree of Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris
causa.