Dear SPH faculty and staff:

School of Public Health (SPH) Associate Dean for Research and Professor Marizen Ramirez has shared with me that she has accepted the position of Associate Dean of Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity at the University of California-Irvine Program in Public Health. She has expressed to me that this decision is deeply personal as it gives her a chance to move back to her home state and be much closer to family while also advancing DEI and continuing her injury and violence prevention work. She will leave SPH for her new role in mid- to late-June 2023 (exact date to be determined).

Marizen has served the school in broad and significant ways. As associate dean, she built and led the SPH Office of Research, expanding public health research opportunities and facilitating strong collaborations both within and outside the University to advance the school’s scientific excellence, research capacity, and mission. Under her leadership, the Office of Research developed a strategic plan, conducted a school-wide center assessment, and created new, innovative initiatives to support faculty in their research endeavors.

As a professor in the SPH Division of Environmental Health Sciences, Marizen developed an injury and violence prevention curriculum for the MPH and MS programs; brought in several grants from the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) that address trauma in marginalized communities; and mentored and advised more than a dozen MPH, MS and PhD students, postdoctoral fellows and junior faculty. Since 2019, she has led the Midwest Center for Occupational Health and Safety, leading its competitive five-year renewal and directing the occupational injury program.

I am grateful that the school will continue to benefit from Marizen’s leadership through June. Over the coming months, I will work with members of the SPH leadership team and the Office of Research to ensure strong leadership and our school’s continued growth in our research enterprise.

Please join me in extending deep appreciation to Marizen for her service to SPH and well wishes for the future.

Sincerely,

Tim Beebe
Interim Dean and Mayo Professor