Power of Endowments in Shaping Public Health

Hood Family Endowed Dean's Chair in Public Health

A new school, a new dean and a newly endowed chair

The John and Sally Hood Family Foundation has given $3 million to establish the Hood Family Endowed Dean’s Chair in Public Health at UC San Diego. The gift is intended to support excellence in research, education and practice of public health at the Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science at UC San Diego.

Cheryl A.M. Anderson, PhD, MPH, founding dean of the Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health, has been named the inaugural chair-holder of the Hood Family Chair. An endowed chair is one of the highest honors that an academic institution can confer upon a faculty member.

"We have full confidence in Dean Anderson’s leadership to grow and develop this vital educational pathway for UC San Diego. She has the skill, dedication and compassion to lead a new school of public health and cultivate future leaders in this field."

— Sally Hood

An internationally recognized epidemiologist, Anderson’s research focuses primarily on connections between nutrition and chronic diseases as well as the use of clinical trials and interventions to prevent risk factors for diseases such as heart disease, chronic kidney disease, diet-related cancers and obesity. Her efforts as a researcher and an educator have been instrumental in shifting public health policy and practice toward a more comprehensive and equitable future.

“I am grateful to Sally and John for their generosity and investment in the health of this region and in this school. They are champions of public health. This gift will be transformative as we build a school community that cultivates leaders and builds an infrastructure where members can thrive. It also allows us to boldly meet the public health needs of the 21st century.”

— Cheryl A.M. Anderson, PhD, MPH