Dr. Jonathan Fielding and his wife, Karin Fielding, have donated a generous gift valued at $50 million to the UCLA School of Public Health. The gift is the greatest in the school’s 50-year history, and in appreciation of this, the school will be renamed the UCLA Jonathan and Karin Fielding School of Public Health.
Dr. Jonathan Fielding is a leading public health figure and has been a faculty member at the UCLA School of Public Health since 1979. He is also the founding director of the Los Angeles County Department of Health. Sharing her husband’s desire to improve public health, Karin Fielding is an officer of The Everychild Foundation, a charitable organization that aims to alleviate the suffering of children in Los Angeles due to illness, mistreatment, neglect or poverty.
Dr. Jonathan Fielding and Karin Fielding
Photo courtesy of Los Angeles Times
The gift is a pledge of assets associated with holdings in Dimensional Fund Advisors. The income and additional earnings from the donation will support faculty, students and educational organization, and it will also endow a chair in population health to strengthen progress in health in such areas as transportation, housing and education. Another use of the fund will be to help students graduate with the expertise they need to make a difference in the public health field as it changes and develops.
The UCLA School of Public Health is habitually ranked by U.S. News & World Report in the top 10 schools of public health. Its faculty and students engage in essential work by partnering with communities in need in Los Angeles and are active in science research in over 70 countries.
"My experiences in UCLA classrooms and working with other faculty members, students and alumni in public health practice made the UCLA School of Public Health an easy choice for our family's support," Dr. Fielding said. "UCLA School of Public Health students enter the field with a passion and commitment to public health. As someone who has dedicated my career to service, I am inspired by the talent and enthusiasm of UCLA students, and I am delighted that our family can help them achieve their educational goals and make a palpable difference in the wider world."
UCLA School of Public Health
Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
Outside of his work at UCLA, Dr. Fielding has led the Los Angeles County Department of Health in a number of pioneering programs, including the well-received ABC restaurant grading program; an excellent chronic disease-prevention program that focuses on nutrition and physical activity; and a top-notch emergency preparedness program. He is also a founding member of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force and chair of the U.S. Community Preventive Services Task Force. Further to his credit, Dr. Fielding was appointed by President Obama to the Advisory Group on Prevention, Health Promotion and Integrative Public Health.
The UCLA School of Public Health has a top-tier program with talented faculty and excellent students. The generous donation by Dr. Fielding and his wife will go a long way in improving the quality of education the school offers, and thus the quality of graduates that will go into the public health sector and make their difference in the world. The Fieldings’ contribution to science research and public health is impressive, and their latest gift will help improve the abilities of those with a passion for public health to help many under served communities.
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