Printer FriendlyWe believe that healthy citizens and the health care and public health programs that support them can be the leading edge of an economic and social transformation toward an ecologically and socially sustainable society. Progress towards this vision of optimal health for all requires action at many levels: by individuals, communities, private and public institutions and governments. The healthy core of a sustainable society includes:
- communities that promote health and provide adequate nutrition, shelter, and economic security;
- workplaces that are free from preventable hazards and offer creative and rewarding work;
- environments that encourage individual learning, social engagement, and the appreciation of our diverse cultural and natural heritages; and
- comprehensive health care systems that respond to the needs of all members of the community.
To achieve this vision, we prepare skilled professionals to work with informed and empowered citizens to identify and carry out programs that prevent health and environmental hazards, treat illness and disability, build diverse and inclusive communities, develop safe and rewarding workplaces, and restore ecological integrity. This requires novel approaches to research and science, new linkages between traditional professions and services, and policies that can expand the ambitions and resources of the current health care, public health, and environmental protection systems.
The School of Health and Environment represents a new phase in a continuing effort at the Lowell campus to become a model of innovation and interdisciplinary experimentation by pursuing a vision of regional sustainable development. It further reinforces the University’s long-standing commitment to community outreach, business assistance, and applied and practical solutions to current social and economic problems.
We recognize that achieving the School’s mission requires:
- improving our understanding of health, disease and disability and their social contexts;
- increasing citizens’ understanding of health problems and their environmental, social, and economic causes;
- expanding community and workplace opportunities for promoting health;
- developing environmentally sound systems of production and consumption;
- exploring the fullest understanding of our region defined by common political, social, ethnic, economic and cultural boundaries;
- addressing the determinants of social and economic disparities in our region;
- maintaining a health care system that is effective and compassionate; and
- promoting innovative policies to support human health and development.